Dead to Her World
by JJ Louise
Summary: Late one night, while driving back to his bar in Shreveport, Eric spies a woman running down the highway.  He stops to help her.  He's drawn to her.  A/U, kinda OOC.  I'm no good with synopsis.  Just check it out.  :
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone.**

**So, I was actually working on a different story when I got the idea for this one. **

**I had serious writers block going on the others, but this one came, and just took off.**

**It's Alt Universe, kinda out of character.**

**So here's chapter one... let me know what you think so far.**

**Updates will be every Sunday for sure, and possibly during the week if time permits.**

**But be assured, there will be updates at least every Sunday, and I wont leave this hanging.**

**I start a story, I finish it.**

**I'm terrible at synopsis as well, so basically, this is a different play on "Dead to the World". Our favorite vampire sex GOD Viking Eric finds a woman running down the road in the middle of the night. He stops to help the stranger.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. I'm just taking them out for a spin on the old keyboard. :)  
**

**Snoogans!  
**

* * *

"What is your name?" I asked.

"I don't know." she replied.

"You don't know your own name? Where are you from?"

"I don't know that either." she said, and even in the darkness, I could see the tears welling in her eyes. I would do anything to avoid her crying.

I looked around at the surroundings. We were on the highway the led between Bon Temps and Shreveport. It was empty this time of night. "Where were you coming from? I can take you back there." I said, and walked around to the passenger side of my car, opening the door for the young woman. She didn't move.

"I don't know where I was coming from. I don't remember anything. My first memory was you pulling over and making me stop running." she said, motionless.

I stepped away from my car, and towards the young woman. She took a few steps back, and I could smell the fear in the air as it practically poured off her. "Are you afraid of me?"

"I don't know." she replied, tilting her head as if she was in deep thought over the idea of what exactly it was that she was afraid of. There was a slight gust of wind, and she shivered. I hadn't been aware that it must be cold for her. Something that I could use as leverage to get her off the road and into my car.

I took in the sight of her then. I hadn't really when I pulled over. At first, I had just seen a blonde woman, possibly early to mid twenties, running down the road. She had been wearing jeans and a sweater, but until now, I hadn't really taken in the entire scene.

The jeans were torn at the knees, and ragged at the bottom. She was barefoot. Her sweater was torn at the neck. I could smell blood, but I had pushed it to the back of my mind. I didn't want to hurt this girl, and I didn't want to scare her. I wanted to get her off the road and somewhere safe.

Pam would have laughed at me.

I could have very easily taken her off the road here. Fed from her, left her. Bodies can be disposed of. There would be no evidence. But there was something about her…

I shook my head. "You're cold. It's quite late. Please, I won't harm you. Let me take you somewhere safe. We can find out who you are. Get you back to your family." I said, and I reached out my hand. Not a typical gesture from me, or any other vampire for that matter, but like I said, there was something about her… something different. I wanted her to trust me. I didn't want her to fear me. I wanted to find out who she was.

She thought for a moment before she finally stepped forward. The fear was almost completely gone. As she stepped up to my car, I noticed it was her feet that were bleeding. I looked down, and her eyes followed mine.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

"No. I didn't even notice until just now."

I gestured for her to have a seat in my corvette, but she just hesitated. She seemed to just now start to take in her appearance. "I'm gonna get your car all dirty."

"It can be cleaned." I said, and she let out a sigh and she lowered herself into the seat.

As soon as she was seated, I closed the door, and went around to the driver side. I made a mental note of exactly where we were before I got in.

The woman put on her seat belt, and eyeballed me as I started to pull away. "Aren't you going to wear your seat belt?" she asked. The corners of my mouth started to curve upwards.

"I don't wear it. I don't need it." I said. She stared at me as if I had three heads.

"But what if you get in an accident. You could die."

"I'm a vampire. I would be fine. If I even got into an accident. It's highly unlikely."

Now she stared at me as if I had five heads. I returned her stare.

"Well I'm human, and if you get in an accident from not watching the road, I might not be so lucky." she said before turning her head back to the road. There was no raise in her level of fear. I was slightly shocked, which was even more shocking. This woman had managed to shock me.

"You're not afraid of me?" I asked. She shook her head that she wasn't. "Most people would be fearful in your situation."

"Well, guess I'm not most people."

"Then what are you frightened of?" I asked. She still had a small amount of fear coming off her.

"That I don't know who I am." she sighed, then turned her head back to me. "And that you keep looking at me instead of the road."

* * *

I pulled into the parking lot of the bar that I owned, and parked in the back.

"Where are we?" she asked as I turned off my car.

"Fangtasia. It's a bar. I am the owner. Come. I'll take you inside, and you can get cleaned up. My associate Pam may have something that you can change in to." I said. I started to smell the fear raise from her. I turned to her and she kept her eyes focused straight ahead. "You don't have to be afraid. You're safe here."

"Alright." she replied, and then removed her seat belt. I exited the car, and was at her door before she even realized I had left. I opened it for her, and offered her my hand to exit the vehicle. She took it, and I noticed how soft and warm her skin was. I went to drop my hand from hers as soon as she was on her feet, but she tightened her grip when she sensed that I was letting hers go. I could have easily pulled mine away, but I let her hold on to me.

I led to her to the employee entrance, and we quickly made our way to my office unseen. I shut the door behind us, and she stood still in the middle of the room. I stared at her for a moment, and she stared back.

What had I gotten myself into? Pam was going to get a kick out of this. I would never hear the end of it.

"Wait here a moment. I will be right back." I told her, and took a few steps towards the door of my office. She stayed motionless.

* * *

"Pam." I said, and my child made her way to me from the bar. It was after two in the morning, and the bar was closed. The customers were gone. I took stock of who was left as Pam made her way to me.

"Eric. What took you?" she asked.

"I had an interesting drive back." I said, and told her about the woman that I had found running down the highway.

"Oh that's rich, Eric. She's in your office? I want to see her." she said, and I turned to lead us back to my office.

I opened the door to find the woman standing in the same place that I had left her. She hadn't moved, but her head turned to watch Pam and I enter.

"This is my child, Pam." I said, introducing the young woman. "Pam, can you please take our guest to the employee shower. Find something clean that she can put on." I ordered, and made my way over to my desk. I took a seat, and noticed that Pam and the woman were still standing in the same spots. I looked to Pam.

"Come." Pam said to the woman, and walked out of the office. The woman looked to me, and I nodded for her to follow Pam. She took a deep breath, and turned to follow Pam.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, I was lounging on my couch when there was a knock at the door. "Enter." I said, but stayed laying down. The door opened, and in walked Pam, followed by our mystery woman. She was wearing a clean pair of jeans and one of the Fangtasia shirts that we sold in the gift shop.

"Leave us Pam." I said as soon as the woman was in my office. Pam rolled her eyes and left, shutting the door behind her.

"Thank you." the woman said as the door shut. I sat up on the couch, and returned to my desk. The woman took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side.

"I checked to see if there were any reports of a missing woman while you were cleaning up, but I didn't find anything." I said to her, and instantly regretted it. Tears started to fill her eyes again, and this time, they spilled over. I handed her the box of tissues that sat on my desk.

I let her cry. I didn't know what else to do. She did this for about five minutes before she calmed herself down. When she had calmed to a whimper and a few hiccups, I spoke again.

"Perhaps it's time we leave here. I can take you to the police station if you like."

"Okay." she said with absolutely no emotion.

I rose from my desk and headed to the door. She rose, and followed silently. We got the door leading out to the parking lot, and I opened it for her. She took a few steps towards my car and then winced. I looked down, noticing that she still had no shoes. She noticed me looking, and took another step before stopping.

"Pam didn't have shoes that were anywhere near fitting. I thought I would be alright. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Here, let me." I said, and picked her up. She rested her head against my shoulder. I froze. She had taken me by surprise again. How was she doing this to me? After a moment, she looked up at me, and I continued to my car. I set her down as I opened the door for her, and she climbed in.

We drove silently to the Shreveport police station. I pulled into the parking lot, and turned off the car. I turned to the mysterious woman. She was on the verge of crying again, and now, she was more scared than she had been all night.

"You will be safe with them. They can find out who you are. They can take you to your family."

"What if I don't have a family? You said no one had reported me missing. What if there is no one who knows me."

"I'm sure there is someone looking for you." I said, trying to reassure her. I exited my car, and went around to her door. I helped her out, and we slowly started to walk to the front entrance to the police station. We were ten feet from the door when she froze. I stopped to look at her, and tried to urge her on, but she stood there shaking her head.

"I don't want to. I can't." she said. Her heartbeat had increased exponentially. Her breathing had quickened. I wanted to avoid a scene. I could have easily lifted her and carried her in. But I tried the more subtle approach.

"You want to go into the station. You will be safe in there. They will help you to get home." I said, staring hard into her eyes. And then the most astounding thing happened.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She was looking at me quite puzzled. I had distracted her, but I hadn't been able to glamour her.

"Nothing." I said. Peculiar. "Are you sure you don't want to go in?" I asked. She shook her head no. I turned and make my way back to my car, and she followed.

"I will take you to my home." I finally said after we sat in my car a few minutes. I had hardly believed the words when they left my mouth. I was inviting a human woman to my home. A human woman I didn't even know.

But in my defense, she didn't know herself either. I stared at her a few more minutes. She was a mystery. She was no threat, of that I was sure. If I hadn't been, I wouldn't have thought to take her to my home.

And I trusted her? Odd. Where had that come from?

She had said nothing the entire ride back to my home. We pulled into my garage, and I let the door shut behind my car before we exited. I went to her door, and opened it to let her out. I picked her up again to carry her into my home. At some point on our way home, a few of the cuts on her feet had opened back up.

I walked us into my kitchen. She kept her face buried in my shoulder. "Hold on to my neck." I said, and she complied. I paused for a moment as her warm arms wrapped themselves around my neck. Her hands found the base of my hair at the back of my neck, and her fingers lightly caressed it. But there was no hint of arousal coming from her. I took that moment to inhale her scent. Sometimes, you could learn a lot about a human that way. I had just learned quite a few interesting facts, and raised a few more questions for myself.

With her holding onto my neck, I reached a hand out and pulled out one of the chairs from my dining room, and into my kitchen. I sat her down, and slowly pulled away as she released my neck.

"Wait here." I told her. I searched the cabinets for a pot, and finally found one in one of the last places that I looked. I obviously didn't have much use for a kitchen, but I kept it stocked, just in case. I took the pot to the sink, and filled it with warm water. "I'll be right back." I said, and went to one of the bathrooms in my home. I found a washcloth along with a few large towels. I joined the woman back in my kitchen, and laid a towel down before I put the pot of warm water at her feet.

"You should take off your jeans." I told her, and she blushed. I smiled at her, and then rose and headed back to the bathroom, and retrieved a robe for her. I went back to the kitchen and handed it to her. "Take off your clothes." I said and handed her the robe. Without another word, I turned my back to her. At first, she didn't move, but after a moment, I heard her start to undress. I tried to be a gentlemen, but I caught a glimpse of her in the reflection of my stainless steel refrigerator. She was in panties and a bra, and reaching for the robe.

Stunning.

She finished and sat back down in the chair I had set out for her, and I turned back to her, and knelt at her feet. I picked up her feet and placed them in the pot. She gasped and I stopped my movements and raised an eyebrow to her.

"I'm fine." she said, and I lowered her feet in the rest of the way. I picked up the washrag, and wiped down her feet. I was as gentle as possible around the cuts on her soles. There were a few pieces of gravel still stuck in them. She winced as I removed them. A few were fairly deep, and I was surprised she hadn't been in more pain.

I paused for a moment, and I wasn't quite sure what came over me, but without really thinking about it, I brought my finger to my mouth, and extended my fangs. I pricked my finger and brought it down to one of her feet.

She tensed up. "What are you doing?"

"Healing your cuts." I said, and brought my finger to her feet, and rubbed the blood oozing from my finger on each cut. She relaxed after a moment. I could see the cuts already starting to close up on the first foot. I left it outside the pot of water, and then I took her other foot. The cut on my finger had all but closed itself, and I pricked it on my fang again before lowering it back to her foot.

Once I was done, I took the pot of water, and emptied it back into the sink, and left the pot there. The woman was still sitting in the chair, only now she was inspecting her feet.

"How did you do that?" she asked when I returned to standing in front of her.

"My blood, well, vampire blood, it heals."

"It sure does." she said, looking back down at her feet.

"It's not something that we like to share. I'm sure you can understand why, even in your current state. I trust you wont say anything?"

"Of course not. Besides, who would I tell?" she said, and for the first time, she smiled.

Amazing.

I stood there for a moment admiring her, and then beckoned her to follow me. "Come, I will show you the rest of the house." She rose and followed me. I took her around, showing her the bathroom that she could use, the living room, and then I took her to the spare room.

"You can sleep here tonight. You know where the kitchen is. I'm afraid there may not be much, if anything, to eat in there. Are you hungry?"

She seemed to think that over for a moment, and then shook her head that she wasn't. "I will make sure my day man takes care of food for you, along with some other items you might need." I turned to her, and then headed back to the door of the bedroom. "I will be in my office, it's down the hall to the right, if you need anything." and with that, I started to close the door.

"Wait." she called just as it was about to shut. I opened it back up, and my eyes met hers. They were once again filled with tears. "Please. Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

I raised an eyebrow. I'm sure I looked absolutely puzzled. She looked so frightened. Not of me however. It seemed she was frightened to be left alone. I nodded to her, and she walked to the bed, and climbed in. I kicked off my shoes, and joined her. She got under the covers, and I followed suit. I laid on my back, slightly perched up against the headboard. I looked down at the mystery woman. She was on her side, facing me.

"Thank you." she said, and closed her eyes.

"You're welcome."

She closed her eyes, but hadn't quite relaxed. I slid down in the bed, and laid on my side to face her. She opened her eyes again, but I could tell that they were now heavy with sleep.

"What's your name?" she whispered to me.

"Eric." I whispered back. She smiled, and I felt around under the covers until I found her hand. I laced my fingers with hers, and I felt her relax completely. Her breathing and heartbeat leveled out, and soon, she was asleep.

I didn't leave right away. I laid there with her. I was… I couldn't put a name to it. Content? Perhaps… but I didn't know this woman. She didn't even know herself.

I found my fingers brushing the hair from her face. Some of it had blended with mine. Our hair color was the same. I couldn't tell where hers ended, and mine began.

I wondered a few things about her then. Things that I would discuss with Pam tomorrow night. I decided to lay there in bed with her for the rest of the night.

I thought about all the little things I had learned about her, but not shared with her, since I had pulled over on the side of the highway to pick up the woman running down it at nearly two in the morning.

First, she was a virgin. I had smelled that when she had wrapped her arms around my neck before I cleaned her feet. It wouldn't have been notable, except for she appeared to be in her early to mid twenties. Now a days, that was something unusual.

Second, she smelled of Fae. Fae magic to be more precise. I hadn't noticed that either until she had wrapped her arms around my neck. Someone had tried to mask it, but there was still a slight trace of it.

And then there were the scars. They had traced up her legs. I had noticed them first around her neck, and then more when I had bathed her feet. They ran up her legs. It was when I was cleaning off her feet that I noticed that the smell of Fae magic was coming from her scars specifically. A Fae had healed her to an extent at some point. But they hadn't been able to completely heal her scars. I wondered how much more of her body they covered.

* * *

**Well, what did you think?**

**Hope you enjoyed. More to come next Sunday if ya'll seem to be enjoying it. ;)**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, first of all.. WOW!**

**Thank you SO MUCH for the feedback and kind words! It made a lousy day (due to a lousy job) turn right around. THANK YOU!**

**I have another chapter ready, obviously, if I'm posting. I actually kept writing last night after I posted the first chapter, and some how, even though I was watching the Oscars, I ended up getting another five pages or so done. **

**So here they are...**

**I was going to clear some things up, but I decided that I'm just gonna let it play out. It'll make sense, trust me. It is an Alt Universe anyway. ;)**

**As always, Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot, cause she ROCKS!**

**Snoogans!  
**

* * *

I laid there with my mystery guest for the rest of the night. I rose from her side thirty minutes before dawn. Once she had fallen asleep, she had slept soundly. I was, what I had finally figured, content just to lay there with her. It was easily in the top five strangest things that had ever happened to me. And that was saying a lot, given that I was a little over a thousand years old.

I rose from her side and went to my office. I called my day man, and left instructions on items to bring for my mystery woman. Once that was settled, I wrote a note for her, and left it on her bedside table.

_Woman,_

_I hope you had a good nights rest. I have left instructions with my day man, Bobby, to bring items for you. Please, make yourself at home today. I will rise at sunset._

_Please understand that you are not a prisoner in this home, however it is locked up for my safety. If you wish to leave, you may do so when Bobby arrives today. He will take you anywhere you wish to go._

_I hope however that you chose to stay._

_E_

When I left the note for her, I stood over her for a moment. I had to know who she was. I hoped that she didn't leave during the day. I wanted to know her. I found that I was drawn to her. The mystery of her. I had only known her a few hours, and already, there was something there. She had hardly even spoken, yet she had managed to capture me completely.

She stirred in bed. I could hear her heart beat increase slightly, her breathing became heavier. Her eyes moved rapidly behind her eyelids. She was dreaming. She shifted in bed. Her face was contorted. She thrashed her arms suddenly. She was having a nightmare.

"Stop… stop… STOP!" she screamed, and I leaned down to take hold of her.

"Shhh… woman. Shhh… wake up." I told her as I hugged her to me. She woke up thrashing against me for a moment, and then began to cry. I rocked her gently, smoothing her hair with my hand. She calmed after a few minutes, and just clung to me.

I could feel sleep starting to pull me. But I pushed it to the back of my mind as much as I could. I had to fight it for just a moment longer.

"Oh Eric, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." she said as she calmed herself down. She stopped crying, and was wiping her eyes.

"Do not apologize. You were having a nightmare. Do you remember it?" I asked.

She seemed to think on it for a moment, and then shook her head that she didn't. Then, she became aware of our embrace, and she backed away. I reluctantly released her, but I stayed seated at her side. She laid back in bed.

"I left a note for you. I'm afraid that I must retire for the day, but I will see you when I rise this evening I hope."

She shook her head, and I leaned down and kissed her forehead. Once I had done it, we both seemed to pause for a moment to figure out why I had done it. Her guess was a good as mine.

I went to sleep for the day still thinking of the taste of her skin on my lips.

* * *

I rose at sunset. My first thought was of her. I wondered if she had stayed.

I dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, and left my locked room to look for my house guest. I found her in the kitchen.

"Hello." she said, and smiled.

"Hello." I replied. I fought a smile. "I see you stayed. Did Bobby bring everything you would need?"

"Yes, and then some." she said, and then took a bite of what appeared to be scrambled eggs.

"Hungry?" I asked. She still had some food in her mouth, and nodded at me, smiling again. I made my way around to the refrigerator and pulled out a True Blood. I heated it up while she ate, and then once it was ready, I joined her at the counter.

"Thank you, by the way. For all this. As soon as I remember who I am, or get back home, or get a job, I will pay you back for this."

"There's no need." I said, waiving a hand at her.

"Well, I'm going to anyways." she said, and finished the rest of her meal. I sat there and watched her eat as I sipped from my True Blood.

"Did you remember your nightmare at all?" I asked, and her eyes shot up to mine. I hadn't realized how blue they were the night before.

"No."

"None of it?" I asked, and she shook her head that she didn't. I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable about it. I decide to change the subject. "I have to go back to the bar this evening. Not for long, but I do have some business that needs to be addressed. Would you like to join me?"

"I don't think so. Is it alright if I stay here? If you don't feel comfortable with me here alone, I understand. I'll go with you."

"Nonsense. You were here by yourself today. You didn't burn my home down." I said, and winked at her, bringing forth yet another smile from her. "You don't have to go. I understand. I wont be long, and I don't have to leave for a few hours."

We were silent after that for a while. We just stared at each other it seemed. It wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. It was strange when I thought about it.

I reluctantly ended our little stare off, and asked her to join me in my office. We sat at my computer, and I pulled up several news pages. I searched the local news pages for Shreveport and Bon Temps, since I had found her running between the two places. There was nothing. No reports of a missing woman anywhere.

I broadened my search, but came up empty. There were reports of missing women, but none matching her description. I looked to her after we searched the last page I had pulled up. She seemed broken in a way. No one appeared to be looking for her. At least, not yet, which was what I told her when the tears started to well up. She looked at me, and must have seen the look in my eyes at the thought of her crying again, and she pulled the tears back.

"Wouldn't someone have noticed if I was missing?" she asked.

"Perhaps you lived alone. If you weren't expected anywhere, it may be a few days before someone notices."

"It's a pretty pitiful life if a few days passed before someone noticed me missing." she said, but didn't seem to be disturbed by it at all. She had said it just as a simple statement.

I turned to her and smiled. "Perhaps you are just independent. There is nothing wrong in that. There is nothing wrong with being able to take care of yourself, to be alone. There have been times in my existince where I have been alone. Where no one would notice me missing. It doesn't make me any less of a person. Well, you know what I mean." I said, and we both smiled. "We have to think of something to call you." I said. She quirked her eyebrow at my sudden change in subject. "What name would you like?" I asked.

"I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it. You got any ideas?"

I did. "Aude." I said, and her eyebrows raised. "It was the name of a strong, brave woman I once knew."

She laughed a little. Her laugh was angelic. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at the name choice. It's a nice name. But strong and brave doesn't seem to fit."

"Why not?" I asked. I had thought she was very strong and very brave, and I had only known her for twenty hours.

"I've cried more times than I can count, I practically melted down when you took me to your bar last night, and then again to the police station. Not to mention my nightmare. And I couldn't even fall asleep on my own. That's not what I would describe as a strong, brave person."

"You may have 'practically melted down', as you say, but you didn't. You trusted a strange vampire when you had no reason to. And you may have cried, but, regardless of how uncomfortable it may make me, as human woman standards go, you had every reason to given your situation. So for that, you are strong and brave."

She blushed, Gods help me, she blushed. It was amazing. She lowered her eyes before she answered. "Aude it is then."

I reached out a hand to her, and placed it under her chin, raising her face to look at mine. "You are brave." I told her.

"Thanks."

The moment was interrupted by my cell phone ringing. I checked the caller, it was Pam. I answered. "Speak."

"You should come down to the bar. There are witches here. They are requesting and audience with you."

"Witches? Interesting. I will be there shortly." I said, and hung up the phone. I looked to Aude. "I have to go. I am needed at the bar. I will make this as quick as possible. Is there anything that you need before I go?" I asked.

"No. I think I'm good. May I borrow a book?" she asked as she motioned to small library I had in my office.

"Of course." I said, and rose from my desk to go change for the bar. I had official business this evening aside from this impromptu meeting with the witches Pam had called about.

Before I left, I stopped back in my office, and found Aude standing in front of my book cases. I came up behind her, and she looked up at me and smiled.

"Decisions decisions." I said.

"No kidding. Have you read all these?"

"And then some." I said, quoting her from earlier in the evening. She laughed a little, which was exactly what I had been going for. I told her again that I wouldn't be long, and I left for Fangtasia.

* * *

"So, what happened when you dropped her off at the police station?" Pam asked as I walked in the employee entrance.

"She came home with me." I said as I turned and went into my office. Pam followed and shut the door behind her.

"You took her to your home?" she asked. I had expected some sort of smart ass remark from her, but apparently, I had managed to render her nearly speechless. She just stared at me.

"Yes. Now, tell me about the witches." I said, and Pam opened her mouth for a moment, to protest the change in subject, but I gave her a stern look, and she didn't push it further.

"They are looking for a missing woman." she said, and smiled slyly. She reached into her leather top, between her breasts, and pulled out a piece of folded paper and handed it to me. I unfolded the paper as Pam started to speak again. "Her name is Sookie Stackhouse. She's from Bon Temps. The witches are claiming she's part of their coven. A sister who's gone missing."

"And you don't believe them."

"Not for a second."

"Did you tell them that you saw her last night?" I asked, looking from the page that had a large picture of my house guest with the message, 'Have you seen this woman?'.

"Of course not."

"Good. Don't mention it at all. As far as anyone is concerned, we never saw her. Did anyone besides you see her last night when I brought her here?" I asked, and Pam shook her head that no one had. "Excellent."

"Shall I bring them in now?"

"Please." I said, and Pam disappeared from my office, and returned a few moments later with a woman. She had dark hair, green eyes, and looked menacing. She was wearing a black form fitting dress, and a black cloak. She looked absolutely stereotypical. It was almost amusing.

"Sheriff Northman, a pleasure to meet you. I'm Hallow. I believe your associate gave you the flyer regarding our dear coven sister Sookie?" she said as she came to stand in front of my desk. I motioned for her to sit, and she did. Pam stayed standing by the door.

"She did. How can I help you?"

"We were wondering if you've heard anything regarding our dearest Sookie."

"Why would I have heard anything?" I asked. She frowned for a moment, but then went back to looking worried. She didn't do the 'worried' look very well. I could see right through her.

"We had a report she was last seen running towards Shreveport. Down the main highway. We know that you met with a shifter over in Bon Temps, and left about the time that she was seen running down that road."

They had done their homework. I was curious as to why they truly were so interested in finding my houseguest.

"I think I would remember a woman running down the road at one in the morning." I said, and tossed the 'Missing' flyer to the side. "But as it stands, I saw no one on my return from Bon Temps. If I hear anything, I will contact you." I said, and leaned back in my chair, putting my feet up on my desk.

"I thank you for your time Sheriff." Hallow said as she rose from her seat. Pam opened the door for her, and closed it as soon as she left.

Pam came to sit in the chair that Hallow had been occupying only a few moments ago. We listened to be sure she had gone back down the hallway, and out to the bar before we spoke.

"I was going to charge you with finding out who our mystery guest was, but now that we know, I want you to find out everything you can about her."

"What do you think they want with her?"

"I don't know, but I know it can't be good. Sookie Stackhouse is quite a mystery. When you helped her to clean up last night, did you get a look at her when she showered or when she was changing?"

"I wish. Why?" Pam asked.

"Well, first off, she smelled of Fae." I said, and Pam practically licked her lips. "Fae magic to be specific. It was faint, but it was there. It seemed to be attached to the scars that were on her neck and lower legs. I have a feeling they cover quite a bit more of her body, but I haven't seen for certain."

Pam laughed. "Didn't bed her?" she asked.

"No. She was in no condition for that."

"But you want to." she said, suddenly serious.

I stared at her for a moment, and then changed the subject. "Has William arrived?" I asked.

"Yes. He got here after I called you. Would you like me to send him in?" she asked, a bit of attitude in her voice. I gave her a stern look, and she adjusted her attitude before leaving my office again. I glanced over at the picture of Sookie. It was a fitting name. It was as unique as she was.

"Sheriff." I heard, and looked up to see William Compton entering my office. I hadn't seen him in a few decades. I was instantly as bored with him now as I was the last time I had seen him.

"Bill. What brings you to area five?" I asked, taking my feet off my desk and leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees. I glanced over at the picture of Sookie quickly, and then over to Bill, who I noticed was also staring at her picture. Except there was something off about the way that he was looking at her. He looked as if he knew her. Intriguing. I would have to see how that played out. After a moment, he looked back to me.

"My last living descendent has died. I have come back to claim my family home." he said, and took a seat.

"I hear you're mainstreaming." I said.

"I am."

"How boring." I said, and looked up at Bill. "How long will you be staying?" I asked.

"For a while."

"Excellent. Is there anything else?"

"No. Just checking in." he said, and rose from his seat. He glanced back down at the picture of Sookie before walking out of the office. I gathered a few items, including the 'Missing' flyer, and headed out of my office. I was nearly to the employee entrance when I heard Pam come up behind me.

"Leaving so soon?" she asked.

"Pam, be a dear and close up tonight." I said, and headed to my car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey yall!**

**OMG, I can't believe all the love I'm getting. I... well... I Love it! Thank you thank you thank you!**

**Well, here's chapter 3. Yippie! A/N at the bottom. **

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans!  
**

* * *

I pulled into my garage and let the door shut down behind me. I sat in my car, taking in the information that I had learned this evening.

Aude was actually Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse.

There were witches looking for her. She didn't seem the type. Not that I really knew her at all, but as soon as Pam was done with her task, I would.

Bill Compton was interested in her. I hadn't been completely sure before in my office, but the more that I thought about it, it seemed to strange. He was just a little to interested in her picture when he noticed it.

But most interesting of all, I found that I was enthralled with her. The moment I had spied her on the side of the road, something took hold of me. She was different, and I could tell just from looking at her that first moment. And I was convinced now that there were at least two different people looking for her.

Now, I had one final decision to make. I decided that I would make it when I saw her.

I went into my house, and through my kitchen. She had cleaned up from her earlier meal. I walked into the living room, and found her on the couch. She was curled up on one of the cushions, a blanket draped over her. She was asleep, the book she had chosen still in her hand.

I went to sit on the cushion next to her. I was taller than most, and so my couch was bigger than most. Her small frame seemed swallowed up in the piece of furniture. I reached over and took the book from her hand, gently. I didn't want to wake her, not yet.

She shifted slightly, a small smile flashing across her face before she sighed.

Why was I so drawn to her? It made no sense. I had never been drawn to a human this way. Perhaps she was a witch. Perhaps she had placed a spell on me. There had to be some explanation.

She was dangerous for me. What had I done? I stopped on the side of the road for some human woman? I let her into my home within hours of meeting her. The only others who had been to my home where Pam and Bobby. Somehow, she had managed to curse me it seemed. It must be a spell. I would never act like this.

Pam even noticed there was something off. She had hardly put up a fight for information this evening. She had hardly even bantered with me about it. I had expected at least of few off color comments to sneak through. But she had just been so taken aback by my actions I realized. She didn't even know what to say.

The anger in me was growing.

And then she stirred in a familiar way from the night before. Heart beat rising, breathing becoming deeper. She was growing restless. She was having another nightmare. I let it play out. I hoped that she would remember something from it this time. It didn't last very long. She woke up screaming. She flung herself at me, and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her fingers once again brushed the hairs at the base of my neck. She was panting for air. She was also shaking so violently if I had been human, she might have broken one of my bones.

We didn't say anything for a few moments. She just clung to me, struggling to catch her breath and calm herself. I wrapped my arms around her back and slowly stroked it in an effort to soothe her.

My anger had subsided.

After a few minutes, she had calmed down enough so that she wasn't shaking so badly, and her breathing was under control. She released herself from me, and sat back on the couch.

"I'm sorry." she said, and turned her face from mine.

"I told you, you don't need to be."

"I remembered a little of it. At the end. Just before I woke up." she said somberly.

"Do you want to discuss it?"

"No." she said, and rose from the couch. She stood for a moment, and then ran from the living room and into the bathroom. I followed her, and found her as she slumped over the toilet and vomited.

I leaned beside her, and held her hair back. She had on the over sized Fangtasia shirt from the night before, and the neck of the shirt was twice as big around her as it should have been. It was dipped just enough in the back so that I could see all of her neck, and the top part of her back just below that. There was bruising. It wasn't fresh. It appeared to be a few days old. It was starting to fade. Curious.

I reached out a finger to touch one, and was interrupted by her turning her head to face me.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she wiped her mouth with her hand.

"You have a bruise. Do you know how you got it?" I asked. She shook her head that she didn't, and started to rise. I let go over her hair, and she made her way to the sink. I stood back and watched as she rinsed her mouth out. "Here." I said, and reached into a drawer on the side of the sink to grab a toothbrush that was still in the package.

"Thanks." she said, taking it from me and unwrapping it. She brushed her teeth then splashed some water on her face before leaving the bathroom. I followed her back to the living room, and sat with her again on the couch.

"How was work?" she asked, suddenly in a bit of a better mood. She seemed to want to push the nightmare and everything else that had transpired in the last few minutes behind her.

"Educational." I said, pausing to take her hand. She lowered her eyes and watched as I reached for her, and she pulled her hand back for a moment before she relaxed and allowed me to take it in to mine. "You aren't afraid of me, yet you pulled your hand away. Why?"

"I don't know." she said, keeping her eyes down.

"There must have been a reason?" I pried.

She hesitated a moment before she answered. "You're different. There's something different when I touch you. It's… unsettling. But I don't know why. And I don't know if it's in a bad way or not. It's just… I don't know."

I laughed. Gods help me, I laughed. It wasn't particularly funny what she said, but I laughed. How was this possible? She described exactly how I felt each time I had touched her.

She looked puzzled, and a little upset from my laughter at her comment. I calmed myself and shifted slightly on the couch so that I was completely facing her.

"Did work go well?" she asked.

"As well as it could." I said, and our eyes locked. She seemed to be as hypnotized with me as I was with her. I knew at that moment that I needed to take care of her. I had to protect her. I had to make her mine. She would be mine. "Did you enjoy your evening?"

"Mostly." she said, and yawned.

"You are tired. You should sleep." I said, and rose from the couch. She reached out and took my hand, and pulled a little. It was no where near pulling me back down to sit with her, but I understood her gesture, and I took my seat again.

Without saying anything, she shifted so that she was resting her head against my chest. The rest of her body curled back up on the cushion. I raised an arm, and put it around her. More for her comfort so that it wasn't pressed against her back, but I found that I was quite comfortable in that position with her.

"Thank you." she finally whispered to me after a few minutes of her relaxing against me.

"You're welcome."

"Eric?"

"Yes Aude?"

"I should be scared of you, but I'm not. Not at all. I may not remember who I am, or well, anything about me at all. But I know enough that getting in a car with a stranger at one in the morning, on a dark deserted road, a vampire to boot, was a stupid move. But some how I knew, I knew you wouldn't hurt me."

There was that shocked feeling again.

"You should have been afraid of me." I said, and she lifted her chin to look me in the face. "I never would have stopped to pick a strange woman up from the side of the road, let alone take her to my home…" I said, and she appeared to be shocked now. But still not afraid.

We stayed like that for a while. Eventually, she fell asleep. I picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. I brushed a strand of hair from her face, and turned to walk back out of her room, and just like the night before, her hand reached out for mine.

"Please stay." she asked in a whisper.

"I have some work that I need to do." I told her, and felt… guilty?

"I'm sorry. Never mind." she said, waiving her hand to dismiss the idea and smiling slightly at me. But I could see in her eyes that she was lying.

I raised an eyebrow and felt the corner of my mouth start to curve up. "Aude, are you trying to seduce me?" I asked.

That got her. She laughed.

"Let me get my laptop, and I will stay in here with you, as long as you can sleep while I work." I said, and she nodded that she could. I went to my office and took what I would need for the rest of the evening and came back to Sookie.

She had slipped under the covers and shifted down in bed. She had moved to the right side, and was facing the left. I went to stand on what she had appeared to have made my side of the bed, and kicked off my shoes. I joined her in bed, although I was above the covers, and I was seated with my back against the headboard.

"Goodnight." I told her once I was settled, with my laptop in front of me.

"Goodnight Eric." she said, and not long after, she was asleep.

I spent the rest of my night going over paperwork and contracts. It was dull, but it had to be done. Every now and then I would glance down at Sookie. She was sound asleep. I could tell that without looking at her of course, but she was just stunning. I couldn't help it.

I realized later when she shifted that she had been wearing the same thing for two days now. I called Pam. I didn't worry about waking Sookie. I could speak softly enough and have Pam still hear me.

"Pam, I need clothing for my guest. Is her clothing from last night still at the bar?"

"Eric, are you serious? She's really still with you?"

"Pam, enough. Is her clothing still there?"

"Yes." she replied bluntly.

"Good. Get her size, and then get her clothing. Enough to get her by for a few days. And undergarments. I believe she will require those as well. Have them ready for Bobby to pick up at the bar in the morning." I said, and hung up.

I called Bobby next. For this, I had to leave the room. I went out to the living room.

"Good evening Master, how can I help you?" he said when he answered the phone.

I informed him about the clothing at Fangtasia, and instructed him to be here at ten in the morning. I also told him to ask Aude if she needed anything, and to take her wherever she needed.

"Master, there was something that I wanted to discuss with you if you had a moment."

"Speak."

"I… well… something strange happened, Master."

"Spit it out Bobby."

"Did she mention my visit today at all? Did she say what happened?" he asked. I could tell he was nervous. I walked back down the hall and looked into the room, to the bed, to see Sookie still sound asleep.

"No, she said nothing."

"Master, I came in with the groceries. She was sitting in the living room. She didn't speak to me at all at first. She seemed frightened of me. I told her, as you instructed, that if she needed anything to let me know…"

"Bobby, get to the point."

"I brought the groceries to the kitchen, and I realized that I forgot to get bread. And she told me not to worry about it."

"And why does this matter?"

"Because I didn't say it out loud, Master. I only thought it to myself."

* * *

**Okay, so not really a lot happening here... I know.**

**Well, except for that last little line there. LOL Hope that answered the question on Sookies telepathy that some of ya'll were asking about.**

**Anywho, so I basically needed to get through this night, and believe me, it took me the same amount of time to write this chapter as it took me to write the first two combined. I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to have happen in this chapter.**

**Well, that's it for tonight. **

**Again, I promise to update for sure every Sunday.**

**Anything in between depends on my spare time, but honestly, I will try to post more than just on Sundays... as you can tell.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Happy Thursday! It's almost Friday! Woohoo!**

**So... here's the next chapter. I tried to make it a long one, because I probably won't get another chance to write or update again until Sunday. Like I said before, there will ALWAYS be an update on Sunday's.**

**Also.. THANK YOU so much for the kind words. I'm loving that ya'll are enjoying the story. It's very motivating. In fact, after I post this, I'm gonna keep writing so that we will have LOTS of fun on Sunday!**

**As always, Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. And she rocks my socks.**

**Snoogans!  
**

* * *

"I trust you wont mention this." I said to Bobby, and I closed my phone. I stood in the doorway of Sookie's room, and watched her.

What was she? Who was she?

I hadn't even realized that I had walked to her side, and I found myself leaning down to her. I put my nose at the nape of her neck and inhaled. I could sense her waking. The subtle change in her heartbeat and breathing told me so. But she didn't move, and she didn't say anything.

I inhaled deep. She smelled different. I had smelled the Fae magic before, but now that I wasn't focusing on that, intoxicated by it, I was noticing something different about her smell. The smell of her blood beneath her skin.

"You smell different." I whispered in her ear, my lips lightly brushing against her lobe. It sent a shiver through her, and… I inhaled again… slightly aroused her. Beautiful.

"What do you mean?" she finally managed to say, whispering back.

"I don't know yet. But I intend to find out." I said as I started to stand back up straight, but not before stopping just above her face, brushing my lips against her cheek, meeting her gaze with my own. "Tell me about Bobby's visit today." I said as I straightened the rest of the way, and walked to a chair that was in the corner of the room and took a seat. We were sitting in the dark, a small amount of light coming in from the hall way. Of course, I could see her perfectly, but I could see her struggling to focus on me. She shifted in bed so that she was sitting up with her back against the headboard.

"Bobby's visit? He came and dropped off the food. Asked if I needed anything, and then he left."

"Did anything… unusual happen?"

She looked a little puzzled. "You woke me up smelling me. And now you're asking me about Bobby stopping by? I call that unusual." she muttered.

"You know, I can still hear you. When you mutter like that." I said, and laughed a little to myself. "I am a vampire. Good hearing." I said, tapping my ear.

"I haven't forgotten." she said, a bit of harshness in her voice.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked after a moment.

She seemed to realize what i was referring to. She took a deep breath before she answered. "I was scared."

"You don't trust me?" I said, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees.

"I don't know you." she said.

"I'm the only one you do know, actually."

"All's I know is your name is Eric, you're a vampire, and you have no problem apparently picking up a strange woman off the side of the road at one in the morning and taking her into your home. Which you say you have _only_ ever let two other people into!" she said, her voice getting louder as she spoke.

She had gotten herself worked up. I sat silently as she calmed herself down. It took a few minutes, but eventually, she relaxed again.

"Your name is Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse." I told her.

"What?"

"I said, your name is…" but she interrupted me.

"No, I heard you. I just mean… when did you find this out?"

"While I was at the bar tonight. I learned a few things about you. Or at least, things concerning you. Pam is digging up what she can on you. We should know more tomorrow evening." I said, and rose from the chair. I was at her side in an instant, hovering over her. She cowered a bit at first, but then found strength, and straightened back up. I had to fight to keep from smiling at her little display of bravery. I leaned in close to her face. "And don't _ever_ interrupt me again. Do you understand?" I hissed at her.

"Don't keep secrets from me." she replied.

"Don't keep them from me."

"Deal." she said, and stuck her hand out in a gesture humans do when they want to 'shake hands' as if to seal a deal. I took her hand in mine, but instead I brought it up to my lips and lightly kissed it. Being this close to her, having her scent so strong, whatever it was, mixed with the lingering scent of Fae magic was dangerous. For me and for her.

"There may be times when I don't tell you everything. But I will never lie to you." I said, releasing her hand. "Now, go back to sleep." I told her, and turned to leave the room.

"I'm not tired anymore." she said, leaning over to turn on the bedside lamp. "Someone woke me up, and now I'm wide awake."

"My apologies. But you must understand, hearing that your house guest is possibly telepathic…" I said, and then stopped to stare at her. I must have been staring at her strangely, because she froze, and looked at me, puzzled. "Sookie, can you hear what I'm thinking?"

She looked at me for a moment. I thought about how sexy she looked wearing my Fangtasia shirt. She didn't have a bra on. Mother Nature had been kind to her. I realized that I wanted to see her without that shirt on. Without anything on.

"No… I can't." she said, slightly disappointed. "Maybe I didn't really hear Bobby's mind today. Why can't I read yours? If I was telepathic, shouldn't I be able to? Maybe there's something wrong with Bobby, and not with me."

"You think there is something wrong with you if you are telepathic?"

"Well… yeah. Don't you? I'd make me a freak." she said, and lowered her eyes. I was at her side then. I took her face in my hands, and brought her eyes up to meet mine.

"You are anything but a freak. Do you understand?" I said, and she rolled her eyes. "Sookie, look at me. You are beautiful." I said in almost a whisper to her. She blushed, and turned her eyes from mine again. I gripped her face tighter and her eyes shot back to meet mine. "You are beautiful. You are brave and strong. And you are smart."

"Smart? How? I got in a car with a strange vampire in the middle of the night." she said, half smiling.

"Yes, but look at the vampire you got in the car with. Obviously a smart decision." I said and half smiled back. She laughed lightly.

I leaned forward and kissed her. It was light, slow; and I lingered for a moment before pulling back.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"I saw my chance. I took it." I said in a serious tone. She blushed again.

"Eric, I don't know if I want to do… that."

"Do what, exactly?" I said, leaning back towards her, stopping just short of her lips. Gods she smelled delicious. I just wanted to rub myself all over her. I wanted to do a lot of things to her when she smelled like this. I wondered for a second when the smell of the Fae magic would wear off. I hoped it wouldn't be any time soon. Our noses touched. I brushed mine along hers, and then to her cheek. I could smell her arousal again. Her body was rigid.

"This. I don't know if I want to do this. I'm…"

"You're what?" I whispered into her neck now.

"Eric, please…" she whispered back. It wasn't a 'please' meant for me to continue. It was a 'please' meant for me to stop. I leaned back. I felt intoxicated from her, by her.

"You really should rest." I told her, rising from the bed. She shook her head in agreement, and I left the room. She didn't ask me to stay this time.

* * *

When I rose the next night, I found Sookie in the kitchen. She was washing the dishes from whatever meal she had made herself. I went to the refrigerator and took out a True Blood, and put it in the microwave.

"How was your day?" I asked, leaning against the counter, waiting for the familiar ding to tell me my breakfast was ready.

"Good. Bobby came by again. Dropped off some clothes for me. Thank you, by the way."

"You're welcome."

She turned from the sink to face me. "I read his mind. I didn't even have to try. It was actually a struggle to make it stop."

"Interesting. How did you do it? Make it stop."

"I just thought about building a wall where his thoughts were coming in. Eventually, he was pretty much blocked out." she said with a shrug of her shoulders. She turned back to the sink. I thought about walking up behind her then. Turning her to face me. Taking her. Right there on the counter. Tasting her skin, her blood. Making her moan… scream my name. Our bodies joined together.

Then the microwave dinged, and I was jolted back to the present. I would make that a reality, and soon.

"We are going to the bar tonight. We are leaving at eight. Pam should have more information on you. We can start to figure out exactly who you are." I said and I opened the bottle of True Blood and then took a drink.

She didn't say anything though. She just stayed facing the sink, washing the same plate.

"What if I don't want to know?" she finally asked.

"Why wouldn't you want to?"

"I'm scared. You know how you found me. Clothes torn, memory erased. And I know you saw the bruise on my back, and the scars around my ankles… someone did that to me from whatever my life was before. What if they try to kill…"

"I wont let anyone hurt you."

"I could just make a new life for myself. Forget this Sookie Stackhouse person. I could just go by Aude. Find a job or something. Get my own place."

"You could stay here. You wouldn't have to work. I would take care of you." I said the words, and couldn't believe they had come from my mouth. That I had thought them. That I had been so quick to say them. But they were the truth, a truth I had just realized.

"You don't even know me." she said, finally moving on from the plate she had been washing for the last few minutes. She stopped what she was doing and turned to face me.

We stared each other down for a few minutes. I finished my True Blood and set the bottle on the counter. "Be ready to leave at eight." I said sternly to her and went to my office, slamming the door behind me.

* * *

The ride to Fangtasia was quite. It seemed that neither of us was going to be the one to speak first. When I pulled into the parking lot, she hesitated before following me out of the car and into the employee entrance. When we got to my office, I motioned for her to have a seat, and then I left my office to find Pam.

She was sitting in my booth with Bill Compton. Shit.

"Master." Pam said as I took a seat next to her in the booth.

"Sheriff." Bill said.

"Compton. What brings you here?" I asked.

"I came looking for some… company, for the evening." he said, looking out into the crowd. What a fucking liar.

"Well, I hate to cut this short, but Pam and I have some business to attend to. If you'll excuse us." I said, and rose. Pam followed. Not that I wanted to spend time with that worthless Compton, but I would suffer through it if it meant finding out why he was interested in my Sookie.

We went into my office, and I had a seat behind my desk. Sookie was sitting in one of the chairs in my office. Pam went to one of my filing cabinets and pulled out a small file, placing it in front of me. She turned to face Sookie.

"Well look at you all cleaned up. Nice. Very nice." Pam said, and winked at Sookie.

"Thank you." Sookie said in return, smiling slightly at Pam.

"Well, aren't you sweet." Pam replied.

"Not particularly." she said, dryly.

Pam turned back to me. "She's from Bon Temps. Lives in a home that's been in her family for over a century. And you'll never believe who she works for."

I looked up to Pam and she flipped open the small file. It had a copy of Sookie's application for employment. I stared at it for a moment and then started to laugh.

"I know. Hysterical." Pam said in an irritated tone.

"What? Who do I work for?" Sookie asked, leaning over trying to read the page.

"The shifter?" I said to Pam.

"None other. Weren't you there the night you found you little bundle of joy?"

"I was coming back from there, yes."

"You didn't see her while you were there?" Pam asked.

"I would remember seeing her." I said, looking back up at Pam. She had a grin like the Cheshire cat plastered on her face.

"Pam, who's 'the shifter'?" Sookie asked. Pam looked to her, and then to me, realizing that Sookie and I hadn't really looked at each other, and hadn't spoken directly to each other since we had been in the office.

"Lovers spat already?" she said, still smiling.

"Enough Pam. What else did you find." I said.

"There wasn't much." she said, and turned back to Sookie. "You have a brother, Jason Stackhouse. Your parents died when you were young. You and your bother lived with your grandmother after that. Your brother moved out and back into your parents home when he was eighteen, and you stayed with your grandmother until she died last year."

Sookie sat back in the chair. She seemed to be searching her mind for any memory of anything Pam had just told her. After a few minutes, she shrugged her shoulders, tears starting to fill her eyes. "I don't remember any of it." she said. A tear rolled down here cheek.

"Really Eric, now she's leaking."

"Pam, enough." I said, and looked up at her. "Go watch Bill." I said in Swedish.

"Fine." she said after a moment, and went to leave the office, but when she got to the door, she stopped and turned back to me. "Oh, and by the way, she has a new next door neighbor. You'll never believe who it is! Bill Compton." And with that, she walked out the door.

I looked to Sookie, who, as soon as the door was shut, seemed to crumple in agony. She had her hands on either side of her head, cupping her ears. She was starting to rock back and forth. I was at her side immediately.

"Sookie, what's wrong?" I said as I tried to calm her. She would have kept rocking except I had a strong grip on her, and she couldn't move any longer.

"I can hear them." she finally managed to whisper. "I can hear all of them. I can't make it stop." she continued. I lifted her face to look at mine. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Yes you can. You did it with Bobby, you can do it now." I told her in a calm but stern voice.

"I've been trying, but it's just getting louder. I can't Eric. I can't do it. Get me out of here, please." she pleaded.

I took out my phone and sent a text to Pam to make sure Compton didn't have a view of the hallway or the employee entrance. Sookie and I would be leaving in one minute. She replied back that we were clear ten seconds later. I lifted Sookie from her chair, carrying her like a husband would carry their wife over the threshold of a new home. Her hands were still cupped to her ears, and her eyes were shut tight. Her face was contorted into that of someone who was in pure agony.

I rushed us out the door and to my car. I had her in the passenger seat and buckled in an instant. The moment we had gotten out the door, I could see the tension slowly starting to release from her. By the time that I had her in my car, she was still clutching her ears, but she didn't seem to be in pain any longer.

I got in the drivers seat and pulled out of the parking lot. I found a side street to park on a few blocks away. We still needed to have a conversation about what we had learned this evening. I turned off the car but stayed facing forward. She had taken her hands from her ears and was sitting looking out the passenger window.

"Last night, there were witches at Fangtasia, looking for you. They said you were part of their coven. I told them I hadn't seen you, but they knew you by name. They have been putting these out." I said, and turned to take the 'Missing" flyer of her from the folder Pam had put together regarding Sookie. I handed it to her. She stared at it like she was looking at a stranger instead of a picture of herself. She handed it back to me after a moment.

"Am I still going home with you?" she asked.

"Yes. It's not safe for you to return to Bon Temps right now. Not until we figure out what the witches want with you."

"Is that the only reason you're taking me back with you?"

"Would you come with me still if there was no danger?" I asked.

"Yes. You're the only person I know." she said, and then turned to face me. "I'm sorry, about earlier, in the kitchen. I should have said thank you for your offer. It's just, I don't understand why you would offer so much to someone you hardly know."

"I'm sorry as well. For a few things, but we can discuss those later. As for my offer, it still stands. I agree, we don't know each other very well. But I find… that I would like to get to know you better." I said, leaving out the part about wanting to make her mine. Wanting to bring her to my side. Make all who owe me fealty owe it to her as well.

I was confused. I was clear on the feelings that I had that were growing rapidly for this young woman, but I couldn't figure out why it was happening. I had never felt for a human the way that I felt for her, and I had only known her two nights.

"As for you coming back with me to my home, the danger that you face in Bon Temps is not the only reason that I want you to come home with me. I find that I am drawn to you, Sookie. I don't know yet though if these feelings are my own, or if there is something else driving them. I haven't felt like this about any human in a thousand years. Not since I was human. There are times that I think these feelings, this draw to you is my own, but then I think that perhaps it's some sort of a curse."

Why the fuck had I just told her all that? It was times like this I was sure I was cursed. That she somehow had something to do with it, even if she didn't know she was doing it. Had the witches placed a spell on her? Used her as bait to get to me? To have some spell cast from her to me when I picked her up? Was there some spell about her that had even caused me to pull over and pick her up off the side of the road? That was where this whole thing had started. My unnatural attraction to her when I saw her running down the road. The draw to her that made me pull over to help her.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, pulling me from the intense thoughts I was having on the subject. Spinning my own conspiracy theory as it were. "You've got a million and one expressions running across your face right now." she said, laughing slightly.

"Just theorizing on the events surrounding you." I said in return, and turned to face her. I put my hand on her cheek, and she relaxed into it, closing her eyes. "Come, lets go home."


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy Sunday! SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT!**

**As promised, an update every Sunday for sure. ;)**

**A few items to discuss at the end here, so there's an A/N. Was gonna put it here, but I'll let ya'll get to the story first.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. I'm just borrowing.**

**Snoogans!  
**

* * *

We found ourselves back on the couch. I offered to let her pick a movie to watch, but she said that she couldn't remember if she had seen any of them, so they would all be new to her. I browsed my library of DVD's and ended up settling on a TV show instead.

"He's creepy." Sookie said as the episode of Dexter ended. I laughed. "And how did you even get into this show? You don't seem like you watch a lot of television."

"A lover of Pam's had her watch it. Pam recommended it to me."

Now Sookie laughed. "I can't picture Pam watching it either. Not that I know her, well, at all, but the two times that I have met her…" Sookie said, and then shook her head and smiled. "Full of surprises I guess."

"That's the kettle calling the pot black." I said, and started the next episode.

"It's 'That's the pot calling the kettle black'." she corrected and smiled again.

"Whatever. Do you want to continue?" I asked, even though I had started the next episode.

"Yes please!" she said, and rose from the couch. "But pause it, I need to use the ladies room." and with that, she left the room. I sat on the couch in silence waiting for her return. After waiting there a few minutes, it seemed like she was taking longer than she should.

I rose and went to the bathroom door. It was shut, and I had to stop myself from just walking in. I realized that she probably wouldn't appreciate it if I did. I knocked. "Sookie, are you alright?" I asked.

There was no response. That was enough for me, and I pushed the door open. She had locked it, but it didn't really make a difference. I found her lying on the floor. She had a gash on her forehead, and I could see that there was blood on the edge of the counter. I was down at her side, lifting her head. She was unconscious. "Sookie. Sookie, wake up. Look at me." I said, rubbing her cheek with my thumb. I inhaled deep as the scent of her blood reached my nose. It was stronger now than it had been when I had cleaned the cuts on her feet. There hadn't been as much blood then. I refocused my attention away from her blood, and back to her. "Sookie. Wake up." I said again, and brought my wrist to my mouth. But this time, her eyes fluttered for a moment, and then her body started to move a bit.

"Eric? What… why am I on the floor?" she asked as she opened her eyes the rest of the way, and then shut them. "Oh, my head." she said, and reached up her hand to touch where her forehead was cut open. I took her hand to stop her from touching it.

"I'm going to lift you. I will be as gentle as I can. Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yes."

I lifted her, and brought her to her bedroom. I laid her gently on her bed, towards the middle, and sat beside her. I lifted my wrist to my mouth and bit down, opening my skin. "Here, drink." I said, offering her my wrist. She opened her eyes again, and looked at me like I had spoken a foreign language to her. "You must drink. You're injured. You might have a concussion. I understand those can be dangerous for a human."

She stared at me for a moment longer, and then took my arm in her hand, bringing my wrist to her mouth.

I was instantly aroused. She was taking small draws at first, but after a few tentative sips, she started to take longer deeper mouth full's from me. I growled, and her eyes, which she had closed again, shot open, and she released my wrist.

"Thank you Er…" she started to say, but in that moment, my lips met hers. I kissed her. It was deep, and long. She was hesitant at first, but eventually my tongue managed to find it's way inside her mouth, urging her lips to open for me. Once she had granted me access, our tongues danced together. She was an amazing kisser. I adjusted in bed, never breaking our kiss, so that I was laying beside her. We stayed like that for a few minutes, and finally she broke our kiss, in need of oxygen. I adjusted again, and put my arm behind her head, so that it was resting on my arm. I pulled her close to me, and she didn't put up a fight.

The gash on her head was already starting to close, and the blood had stopped flowing from it. She noticed me looking, and I met her eyes. "May I?" I asked, and she smiled and shook her head yes. I leaned to the cut, and licked it.

Oh my Gods. Her blood was divine. It was like it was made specifically for me. I had never tasted anyone like her before. I savored it. The only way that it could have tasted better was if it was fairy blood.

Wait.

I licked again, and this time, I worked to concentrate on the taste more instead of letting it get the better of my increasing desire for her.

She wasn't full Fae, maybe a grandparent? Or a great grandparent? It wasn't overpowering, but if I really concentrated on it, I was sure I could taste fairy in her.

I looked down at her again, before raising my lips back to her cut. I licked one last time, and then kissed her forehead.

"It's already almost healed." I told her. "What happened in there?"

"I don't really remember. I took care of business, and then I went to wash my hands, and then I got a sudden headache. A bad one. Like someone had just hit me over the head with a hammer or something. And then the next thing I knew I was on the floor, and you were telling me to wake up."

I pulled her back to me. I put my leg over her body, and wrapped my arm around her so that I was enveloping her. She rested her head against my chest.

We were silent like that for a few minutes before she spoke. "In my nightmare, last night. There were two people standing over me. I couldn't see them in my dream, but I could feel them. And I could see what they were doing to me." She paused for a moment, and then leaned away from me. I let her go with little resistance. She laid on her back, and pulled up the light blue sweater the hugged her figure in all the right places, exposing her abdomen. "I think I was dreaming of how I got these." she said as she finished pulling the sweater up to just below her breasts. There were scars. A lot of scars. They seemed to cover her stomach.

I reached out to touch her bare skin, but she quickly pulled her sweater back down. "Please don't." she said.

"Sookie…"

"There's more of them. A lot more."

I reached back to her stomach and took the bottom of the sweater in my hand. She grabbed my hand, trying to stop me from pulling her sweater back up. "Sookie, don't be afraid. Please, let me see." I said, and after a second, she relaxed and allowed me to pull her top back up. I stared for a moment before leaning down and kissing her stomach.

"Eric, please don't." she whispered.

I looked back up at her face. "You are beautiful." I whispered back. I adjusted back in my previous position, and Sookie lowered her sweater back down. "Do you think the witches did it?" she asked.

"I don't know. But we will find out. And when we find out, I will kill them. And they will suffer greatly when I do." I replied, a growl escaping me as I did.

She buried her face back into my chest. "I should go clean up. I feel kinda gross." she said after we laid there for a while. She released herself from my embrace, and started to walk out of the bedroom. Before she left, she stopped at the dresser and opened one of the drawers. She took out a tank top and flannel pajama pants and headed to the bathroom.

I laid back in her bed, resting my hands behind my head, staring up at the ceiling. I needed to figure out what was going on. Why the witches wanted Sookie, why Bill was interested in her, why she had those scars, why she smelled of Fae magic, and why she tasted of Fae.

I realized that for the past two days, I hadn't really done anything in regards to moving forward in the investigation of my Sookie. Sure, I had Pam find out who she was, her background, but other than that, I had talked a good game, but moved no where. Was I content to just keep her here with me? Damn the witches and Bill, and just keep Sookie to myself?

The door to the bathroom opened and Sookie came across the hallway and into the doorway. It was the first time that I had gotten a good view of her skin, I realized. Other than when she held up her sweater for me. She had worn jeans and shirts and tops with sleeves. Now that she was in the tank top, I could see the upper part of her chest and her shoulders. She had pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, and I was sure that the scars that I could now see weaved across her upper chest and shoulders no doubt trailed down her back. She seemed to be scared everywhere that could be covered with clothing easily. So that she could hide it from the rest of the world, and be forced to live with the truth of it on her own.

She noticed me staring at her, and her hand reached up and her arms crossed over her chest. Her hand worked their way up to cover her shoulders. She walked to the closet and I saw her pulling out a sweater, and was behind her before she had even noticed I had risen from the bed. I put my hands on her shoulders and bent my head down to her ear.

"Sookie, what are you doing?" I asked, but I knew. I wanted her to tell me.

"I'm cold, I wanted a sweater."

I smiled a little, "My little bull-shitter." I said, and then put my lips at her neck. My hands slowly moved down her shoulders, down her arms, and then wrapped around her waist, pulling her against me. "You feel warm to me, Sookie." I kissed her neck first, and the slowly started to kiss my way up until I was at her ear, and she shivered against me. I let my right hand, which was still at her waist, start to drift lower down her body, down her stomach, until it was at the waistband of her pajama bottoms. She reached down then and grabbed my hand. I paused, waiting for her next move. She had paused as well, as if deciding where to let this go next.

"Eric… can you just stay with me in bed until I fall asleep?" she whispered, and pulled my hand back up to her stomach. I hugged her to me, and then released her, taking her hand, and walked us to her bed. She climbed in and got under the covers. I got in behind her, discarding my shoes, shirt, and jeans before I did. I moved towards her, and she turned her back to me. I took her into my arms, and she relaxed her body against mine.

She hadn't taken long to fall asleep, and as soon as I was sure that she was, I fought every urge that I had to just lay there wither her, and made my way to my office.

I made the call that I was dreading, but that had to be made.

"Merlotte's. Sam speaking." came the shifters voice on the second ring.

"I need to speak with you."

"Well hello to you to Eric. Look, I'm a little busy right now, can this wait until tomorrow?"

"Is it safe to meet at your bar?"

"What? Eric, I don't have time…"

"Do you not have time because you are short staffed?" I said. I loathed having to deal with the shifter, but I could not deny that he was smart… for a dog. The delay in his answer told me he understood what I meant.

"Maybe I should meet you at Fangtasia. It's a little busy around here."

"Good. Tomorrow night at seven. Come to the employee entrance." I said, and with that, I ended the call with the shifter, and called my progeny.

"Pam, delayed opening tomorrow. Lets call it a staff meeting. I want no one there except for you."

"Yes, Master."

I ended that call, and headed back to Sookie's room with my laptop. I worked there in bed with her as I had done the night before. As she had done each night before, what had seemed to be a pleasant sleep turned restless, and was quickly turning into a nightmare.

I set my laptop on the nightstand beside me, and turned to my side to embrace her.

"Eric, help me. Where are you. Eric, please." she said, then jolted awake. She clung to me, breathing heavily, her heart racing. Beads of sweat building at her forehead and brow.

"I have you Sookie." I told her as I tried to soothe her. "Go back to sleep, dear one."

She didn't say anything to me. Instead, she curled her body against mine, and closed her eyes. Soon she was asleep again, and I went back to work.

It happened once more that night, and again, she called for me in her sleep.

I wanted more than anything to be able to go to her in that nightmare and stop whatever horrors she was experiencing.

* * *

The next night, Sookie had put up a bit of a fight when I came to going to Fangtasia, but she didn't want to be left alone either, so in the end, she came with me. She didn't really have a choice, but I let her think that she did.

We were there a little early, so it was just her and I at the bar. I let her into my office, and she had a seat on the couch.

"What if he's the one who did this to me?" Sookie asked as soon as the door was shut. I took a seat at my desk.

"I've known the shifter for a few years. And while I don't necessarily care for him much, it's not in his nature, that I am sure of."

"Why do you call him 'shifter'?" she asked.

"Because that is what he is. He is a shape shifter." I told her as I looked through the mail that had come in for me during the day.

"A what?" she asked, moving to the edge of the couch.

"Sookie, vampires are real. Surely you don't think that is the only story out there that has turned out to be true." I grinned to myself.

She seemed to think on that for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders before relaxing back onto the couch. I continued to go through my mail until a familiar scent entered my nose. I made a face, I'm sure of it, and Sookie looked up from the book that she had brought with her and towards the door.

"He's here." we said in unison, and Sookie laughed a little. I smiled at her and then rose from my desk.

"Stay here, I will get you when I am sure it is safe." I told her, and with that, I left the office. I made my way down the hall and to the employee door. I opened it and found the shifter standing there.

"Come." I told him, and lead him out to the bar area. We took a seat at my booth. Pam came in the employee entrance as we sat, and was walking out of the hall and towards me.

"Eric, why does it smell like wet dog?" she said as she walked up to the booth. She looked down at the shifter. "Never mind. Mystery solved."

"Pam, go to my office. Bring Aude." I told her. She looked at me quite puzzled for a moment, knowing that there was no way Aude would be in my office, as she had died a thousand years ago. But then she understood, and walked away from the booth.

"Do you have information on Sookie?" the shifter asked as Pam walked away. "It sure seemed like you did over the phone." he said, and I didn't acknowledge that he had said anything. "Look, she's a good friend, a real good friend. I'm worried about her. I've been looking for her for days. If you don't have something on her, then I'm leaving. You're wasting my time here." And with that, he started to rise from the booth. He turned to head down to the hallway, and he froze. Pam was walking from my office with Sookie.

Sam turned to me, and then back to her. "Oh chere, thank God you're safe!" he said, and nearly ran towards her. Sookie hid herself behind Pam, and the shifter stopped just short of her. "Sook, it's me, it's Sam. What have they done to you?" he asked, turning back to face me.

"We haven't done anything to her shifter, now go and heal or something, you're scaring her." Pam said as her fangs extended. I was taken aback for a second at Pam's sudden protectiveness over Sookie. She seemed to realize it as well, and retracted her fangs without me having to tell her.

The shifter backed off, and I motioned for him to go back to the booth. I followed, and then Pam with Sookie. I let Sookie into the booth, and then sat down next to her. The shifter sat on the opposite side, and Pam sat next to him.

I looked to Sookie, who appeared to be quite uncomfortable. She must have been reading his mind. She looked like she was concentrating on building the wall the had told me she had done with Bobby.

"Tell me how she went missing." I said to the shifter. He didn't take his eyes off Sookie as he started to speak. I found that I was uncomfortable with him staring at my dear one like that. I slammed my fist down on the table to get his attention, and he picked up again, but this time, looking at me.

"Like I was saying, she was there one moment, and then she was gone. Poof! Vanished."

"What night was this?" I asked.

"Three nights ago. She was working that night. I had a meeting in my office with some… and she vanished."

"The witches have been here looking for her. Are you aware of this shifter?" I said.

"I've seen the missing person posters for her, yes."

"And why were you meeting with them? That is what you were avoiding saying, is that correct?"

"They were threatening to out me to the community. Ruin my business, and any business I tried to start after that. They wanted money, lots of money. More than the bar makes."

"And how did Sookie get drawn into this?"

"She found out what they were doing. She came in to work one day when they were in my office trying to shake me down. When she disappeared, she got into an argument with the head one, Hallow, and Sookie slapped her for threatening me…" he said, and Pam laughed. "Anyway, it pissed off Hallow something terrible, and next thing I knew, she chanted a few words, touched Sook, and bam, she was gone."

"So then why is the witch looking for her?"

"I don't know. Maybe because she knows that she's ruined any chance that she may have had of getting anything from me."

While the conversation was going on, Sookie had slowly started to move in her seat closer and closer to me. Now, she was right up against me, and was grasping at my hand. I took hers under the table, and she squeezed.

"He's telling the truth." Sookie said after that. We all looked to her. She sunk back in her seat a little as all eyes met hers. She tapped her head, "I can hear." she said, looking up at me. I smiled back at her, then her eyes went back to the shifter. "And he's not surprised that I'm telepathic."

"Ooohhh, a telepath! Fun!" Pam said, and Sookie smiled at her. The shifter seemed displeased that now everyone was in the know about Sookie's gift.

"Did the witches know about it shifter?" I asked.

"Yes, but I don't know how. I think that's really why Hallow wants to find her so desperately." the shifter said, and then looked back to Sookie and smiled at her. "Where was she?" he asked.

"She was running down the highway. It was after I had left your bar. I was on my way back here."

"When you left, Hallow and her coven showed up. Sook saw them come in. She knew what they were up to." he said, and tapped his head in the way that Sookie had previously, "I tried to keep her out of it, but I guess either way, they were going to get to her somehow."

Sookie shifted in her seat, and got to her knees. We each looked up at her, and she lowered her hand to the hem of her top. She slowly started to lift it, and I grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked down to me and a soft smile graced her face for a second before she went back to looking serious.

"Do you know how I got these?" she asked, raising the hem to reveal her stomach, and the network of scars that covered it.

The shifter turned his head away and the look of regret and pain that crossed his face was unmistakable.

"Yes. I know how you got them."

* * *

**Oh snap!**

**Anywho, my A/N**

**1. THANK YOU ALL so much for the love in the reviews. I'm uber happy that ya'll are enjoying it. Each night last week when I got home from work, it was the first thing I checked. I'm a glutton for instant gratification I guess. Not that I'm a review whore, but I like em, so if you like writing them, I'm not gonna stop ya. :) But I WONT ask you specifically to do it.**

**2. I hope there was some more questions answered here. I didn't mean to get all "LOST" with this story. LOL Each time I read that there were "more questions than answers" in the reviews, it made me laugh and think of all the times I would say that about LOST.**

**I'm gonna say Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies here just in case you read the first part of #3 and don't wanna go any further.  
**

**3. TRUE BLOOD SEASON 4 SPOILER ALERT! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

**O M G ! Did everyone see the new season 4 trailer? If you haven't and you want to, check it out on youtube. Just search True Blood Season 4 Waiting Sucks Eric.**

**IT'S A BIG GOSH DARN SPOILER IN THAT TRAILER, SO IF YOU DONT WANNA KNOW, DONT GO WATCH IT, AND DONT SAY I DIDNT WARN YOU!**

**Now, for those of you who made it this far, again, Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**

**More tomorrow!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey again!**

**Well, I just kept writing and writing, and poof, another chapter.**

**A/N at the end.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.  
**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

Pam just stared at Sookie's scars. I stared at Sookie's face, and then brought my hand up to lower her sweater, and her, back down.

"Tell me." she asked the shifter, but then she seemed to start to hear the answer from his mind. She winced and shut her eyes before clinging to me.

"You don't remember anything?" she shifter asked. Sookie shook her head against me that she didn't. "I would rather tell you that part in private Sook. It's not something you share with, well, anyone."

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of them." she replied.

"Why don't you let me tell you first, and then if you want, you can share it with them chere." he seemed to be almost pleading with her.

It was clear that the shifter wouldn't give up her secret. However she had gotten them, there were only a few who knew, and she hadn't been forthcoming with it before her memory loss. The shifter seemed surprised that she had shared her scars with me. I lowered my head to Sookie's. "Why don't you let him tell you in private first." I told her. "You can go into my office."

Sookie looked up to me, and then over to the shifter. "Fine." she said, and I rose from the booth to let her out. Pam did the same so that the shifter could leave. He followed Sookie to my office, and the door shut behind them.

"Those scars look like something the Fae would do." Pam said, and my eyes shot up to hers. I hadn't put it together before, but she was right.

"She's part Fae. Not much, but it's there. Perhaps you are right."

"I figured you've had her blood. She is a female after all. But Eric, you've given her your blood?"

"She fainted last night. She was injured. I had to."

"Master, you must be careful…"

"I don't want to hear it right now Pam." I said

"What has she done to you?" Pam asked. "You haven't been yourself these past few days."

"Nothing. How have I not been myself?"

"Well, you haven't slept with her, yet you've given her your blood."

"I told you, she was injured. It was necessary."

"You could have called Ludwig."

"Enough Pam."

"Eric, I'm just worried…"

"I said enough!" and with that, I slammed my fist down on the table.

We sat there in silence until Sookie and the shifter came back out of my office. Pam and I rose again, and let them back into the booth. They were both silent as well. And I could tell that Sookie had been crying. She rested her body back against mine.

The shifter was the first to speak. "We need to get to the witches. We need to get her memory back."

"We can set a trap for them at your bar." I said, taking Sookie's hand again under the table.

"No, not at my bar. I don't want anyone getting hurt. And if I shut it down for a day, they'll know something's up."

"We will have to lure them somewhere then." I said, and then all of our attention was drawn away from the subject at hand and to Sookie, who yawned.

"I'm sorry. Pardon me." she said, and sat up straight, but kept hold of my hand.

"You're tired. It's been a trying evening. We can continue this tomorrow night." I told her.

"Has she been staying with you then?" the shifter asked Pam.

"She has been kept safe at my home." I said.

"Well, I thank you for that Eric. But I think it would be better for her, help her memory maybe, if she came back with me."

"I don't want to." Sookie said.

"Chere, you can trust me. I thought we established that back in the office. I don't want to take you home, but you can stay with me. Your brother can come and see you. He's worried sick about you. Everyone at the bar is."

"You will keep her safe like you did when she went missing?" I growled.

"Look, I didn't know that was going to happen. Now, I know better. I can keep her just as safe as you can Eric."

"I'd like to see you try and take her from me shifter." I said, and both him and Pam looked at me oddly.

"She's not anyone's property Eric. Why don't we let her decide."

"You can, but I don't think you are going to like her answer shifter."

Pam started to laugh and the shifter and I both looked to her now. "Oh please, don't stop. I want to see this little cock fight play out." she said, and then leaned in towards Sookie. "Although, there is _nothing _little about Eric's cock." she said, and winked, fucking winked at her. Sookie turned a very bright shade of red, and the shifter just looked astonished at Pam.

"Pamela! Enough!" I roared, and slammed my fist down on the table, this time cracking it down the middle. Sookie backed away, and cowered in her seat. She put her hands up to her ears. I instantly regretted doing that in front of her. I took her hand, which she had pulled away from me. "Sookie, I didn't mean to frighten you." I said, and lifted her chin so that she would look at me. "Now, will you come home with me, or would you like to go back to Bon Temps with the shifter?"

She looked back and forth between us before her eyes settled on mine. "I would rather go home with you." she told me, and I smiled, then looked to the shifter.

"Sook, here's my number. Call me if you need anything, alright? I'm always here for you chere, remember that." he said, and Pam stood so that the shifter could leave the booth. We all walked to the back of the bar, and the shifter opened up the employee door. "I'm sure you'll let me know if you hear anything." he said to me.

"As will you. I will come to you tomorrow at your bar." I said, and the shifter nodded and left.

I tuned back to Sookie, and then looked up to Pam. "Take care of the bar again tonight. I need to get Sookie back home."

"Don't you mean to your home?" she said, but I didn't acknowledge her. I was already on my way out the door with Sookie.

* * *

"I wont push you to tell me how you got your scars." I said as we turned onto the street my home was on.

"But you really want to know, right?" she said.

"I do. But you will tell me when you're ready." I assured her as we pulled into my driveway. "Come, lets get you something to eat," I said as her stomach made a hungered noise, "and then get you to bed."

"You don't have to treat me like a child." she said as we walked into the kitchen.

"I'm not. If I was, I would be cooking for you as well." I said, and turned to smile at her. She didn't seem amused however. "If you feel that I am treating you as a child, I assure you that is not my intention. I just want to ensure you are taken care of. I find you most… intriguing, Sookie. I want to make sure you are well and cared for."

"Thank you." she said, but still didn't smile.

"Now, I'm going to shower. I wont be long."

"But you showered before we left." she said as I started to leave the kitchen.

"Yes, but I smell like the shifter. I need to get rid of it." I said, and walked back to her, lowering my rose to her neck, and inhaling. I whispered in her ear after that. "You smell of him as well. I don't like you smelling like another man."

And with that, I left the kitchen and went to my bathroom.

* * *

I shed my clothing and stepped into the warm water. I let it run over my head and down my back. I looked down at my erection and thought about how I would like to remedy it. I had been on my way back to Fangtasia that night to find a fangbanger willing to let me feed and fuck. Not that I had any trouble finding anyone who was willing. But I had been side tracked. Now it was three nights later, and I had been living on that vile True Blood and hadn't had sex since the night before I met Sookie.

I didn't want to find a fangbanger tonight however. And I would drink a thousand True Bloods. I just wanted Sookie. I wanted her, all of her. Her blood, her body… her heart.

I had been in such deep thought about it, I hadn't even heard the bathroom door open, but I did hear when the shower door was opened, and Sookie stepping into the shower with me. I turned to face her, in shock. I took in the sight of her naked body, and instantly regretted it, because I could see her becoming self conscious because if it. I looked back into her eyes, searching for what she wanted.

"We both needed a shower. I'm just… conserving water." she said, and smiled at me. I pulled her to me, wrapping my hands around her back, rubbing them slowly up and down her back. Her hands moved up my chest and around the back of my neck where she put her hands into my hair, and pulled me down to her. "Eric." she whispered, and then kissed me. It was full of passion. She granted me access to her mouth, and I deepened our kiss. I had been told many times that I was an amazing kisser. I had a thousand years to practice it, but when Sookie's tongue traced my fangs, I thought I might lose myself completely right then and there. I left her mouth and worked my way down her neck, kissing along the way. I kept a hand at her lower back, bracing her against me. My other hand explored her body. I snaked my hand up to her breasts first, gently rubbing my thumb over her pert nipples, drawing a moan from her. I lowered my head further and replaced my thumb with my mouth. I licked and sucked at each breast, not able to decide on which one I liked better. They were both perfect. My fangs scraped a little on her breast, and Sookie gasped, curling her body further into mine.

My free hand, which had moved from her breasts was now making it's way down between her legs. She opened herself to my touch, and my fingers found their way to her warm center. I slid one in first, slowly, and then when I felt that she was ready, I added another. She had her fingers laced through my hair, and pulled my face back up to hers and we kissed again. As I moved my fingers in her, she moaned into my mouth. She was getting close to reaching her completion, so I stopped my ministrations eliciting another gasp from her.

"Eric, please." she said, and this time, it was filled with lust, passion, and a want to continue. I turned off the water and we exited the shower. Our hands had never left each other, and I took two towels from the rack by the door. We dried ourselves and each other as quickly as possible. The towels were soon discarded, and I lifted her into my arms.

"Bed." I managed to say, and instead of heading to her room, I took her to mine. I laid her on top of the covers and stood before her, taking in her stunning figure before climbing on top of her.

"Eric, I haven't… I mean, well, I don't know for sure, but I feel like…"

"I will be gentle, Sookie." I said before taking her mouth again. "And no, you haven't before. But I am honored that you chose me." I told her, making her blush the most beautiful shade of pink. I reached my hand back down between us, as I had done in the shower, and brought her back to where I had had her before stopping again.

I broke out kiss, and started to work my way down her body, stopping for a moment at her breasts before ending at her warm center. "Watch me, Lover." I said, and she complied. I placed a hand on her stomach, and slid my fingers back inside her. She was so warm, so tight. I brought my mouth to taste her, flicking my tongue along her slit. Her hips bucked, but I held her down with my hand.

I had her at the edge. Just a few more strokes and she would be a puddle on my bed. I moved my mouth from her center and kissed along her inner thigh, nipping her skin. "Eric, do it." she said, and I didn't hesitate. I bit, drawing deep from her artery. It was enough for her, her inner walls clenching around my fingers. She screamed, clenching the bed sheets in her fists, arching her back. I licked at the small puncture wounds in her thigh as she came down from her orgasm, and then made my way back up her body.

"Sookie, are you sure?" I asked. She shook her head that she was. "This is going to hurt for a moment. If you need me to stop, tell me." I said, praying for the control to do so if she did. I positioned myself at her entrance, and leaned down to kiss her as I slowly slid in to her. Her legs wrapped around my back, and I stopped as I reached her maidenhead. I broke our kiss and looked into her eyes. "Lover." I said, and pushed past, feeling it give way for me. Sookie gasped, and was tense as I moved the rest of the way in. I stopped then. "Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes. Eric, please. More." she said, and with that, I started to move in her again, slowly at first, allowing her to adjust to me. It didn't take long before she was moving her hips in rhythm with me. She had relaxed and her next orgasm was already building. I slowly started to increase my speed. I reached down, grabbing her butt, lifting it slightly to allow a slightly deeper angle, letting me hit her in just the right spot. She was panting, moaning, and moving her hips up higher to meet mine now. I felt my own release coming, and leaned down to her neck. She moved her head to the side, exposing it to me completely. "Yes, Eric. Please. Oh God please." she said, and that was it for me. I kissed her neck, and then bit. Sookie finished with me. Her already tight walls clenching around me, pulling everything from me. I collapsed on top of her, not pulling out. Both of our bodies shook in the aftermath. After I felt I had gained some control back, I moved myself from her, and laid at her side. She turned to me, and I pulled her against my chest.

"That was perfect. Absolutely perfect." I told her as I ran my fingers through her damp hair.

"You can't meant that." she said.

"I told you, I would never lie to you Sookie." I said, and smiled at her. "Are you alright?" I asked.

"Oh I am very, very alright." she said and blushed again. "Is it like that, every time?"

"No. I think that from now on, it can only get better." I told her, and kissed her.

"Can I tell you now how I got my scars?" she said after we had laid together for a while.

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Yes." she said, and I turned to my side. She turned on hers and we both rested our heads on the pillow, staring at each other. "Sam said that fairies did it. I was kidnapped last year, just after my grandmother died. I was found by someone named Niall and Claudine. Sam didn't know how they knew to come get me, but they did. Ever since then, Sam says that Niall would come to visit me with Claudine about once a month, and they would work on my scars. He said they used to be a lot worse, and that they were everywhere. They worked on obvious places first, like my arms and face, and then moved on from there." She paused for a moment before she continued. "Sam went into a lot of detail, that i would rather not talk about right now."

"That's fine Sookie, I understand." I said, and then changed the subject away from the details, and to what she had told me. "Do those names mean anything to you?" I asked, hiding the shock that I was feeling at the mention of Niall's name. Niall. Niall Brigant. It couldn't be. I knew that I tasted Fae in her, but could she be related to Niall? He wouldn't be helping her like this, he wouldn't even have gone to save her if he wasn't.

"No, I don't remember them at all. When I have the nightmares, I only dream about it happening, and even then, I don't see their faces. But I know there's two of them."

"Did the shifter say when the last time they came to see you was?" I asked.

"He said two days before I went missing. He also said something else. He said it was something that you should be able to tell if you had my blood."

"That you are part Fae." I answered, and she shook her head yes. "I didn't notice at first, I admit. But after the first taste, I sensed it there."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"With all that is happening, it was the least of our worries."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that's right. But how?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. It came in at some point with either a great grandparent or a grandparent. That I can tell you. It's faint, the bloodline in you, but it's there."

"Am I related to Niall?" she asked.

"I don't think that he would have come for you, or worked on healing you, if he wasn't."

"Do you know him?" she asked.

"I have met him before, yes. But I haven't seen him in a good many decades."

"Sam said he didn't know many details behind it, but he suspected the same thing. That I was somehow related to Niall. He said that fairies didn't come into this world much anymore, so I must have been special to Niall and Claudine. He also said that my grandmothers death was ruled natural causes, but that I had hinted to him before I was kidnapped that I thought there was someone behind it."

We both seemed to think on this for a moment before I continued. "Dear one, when you had your nightmare last night, you called for me in your sleep. To come and help you. Do you remember that?"

She seemed a bit taken aback. "No, I don't. Why would I call for you? I didn't know you then."

"My thoughts exactly." I said, and then pulled her back against me. "But you do now, and I am here for you Sookie. I wont let anything happen to you, do you understand?" I said, a heavy seriousness in my voice now.

"I do." she said, and lightly kissed me. I was ready again. I had been ready again for a while, but now, I wanted to take her. But as I started to explore her body again, she yawned.

"Oh no you don't." I told her, and flipped her to her back, moving myself on top of her.

"Eric." she giggled, and moved her hands to brush my hair behind my ears.

"I want you to spend the day with me." I told her. "Will you stay in here, with me, while I sleep?"

"Of course." she said, and lifted her head to meet my lips.

"Good. Now, remember how I told you it would only get better? I want to show you." I told her, and I did, for the rest of the night.

* * *

I could feel the pull of the sun starting to take hold of me. Sookie was still in my arms, tracing her finger around my chest in a random swirl.

"It's almost sunrise, Lover."

"I wish you didn't have to go to sleep." she whispered.

"As do I. But I will see you when I rise, yes? You will be here with me?"

"Yes."

"Good day, Sookie."

"Good night, Eric." she said, and kissed me. It was the last thing I felt as I died for the day.

* * *

**So this week, I might have an update Tuesday or Wednesday, but that will be it until Sunday. It's getting close to my birthday, and the celebration is starting early this week with a trip to see a taping of Conan! I'll be there for Thursdays show.  
**

**EEEEKKK! He's my red headed Irish Eric. ;)**

**Anywho... yay for this chapter right?**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Booches!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Good evening!**

**So this will probably be the last post until Sunday. I will TRY to get something in before then, but I won't have much time to write between now and then.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**

* * *

I woke up that night to the feeling of Sookie in my arms. She was sleeping. I stayed still for a moment, enjoying the warmth of her in my arms. I had fallen asleep on my back, left arm stretched out. Now, she was stretched out against my body, her head resting on my arm, face against my chest. I wrapped my left arm around her and hugged her to me.

"Mmmm, good morning." she said, eyes still shut. I could sense her drifting in and out of sleep for a few minutes before she opened her eyes.

"Good evening." I said, and kissed her forehead. "How did you sleep?"

"Great. You?"

"Like the dead." I replied, and we both laughed.

"So what are we doing tonight?" she asked, stretching and moving to get out of bed.

"Oh no you don't." I said, sitting up and grabbing her before she knew what happened. I pulled her not only back into the bed, but on top of me, so that she was straddling me. I had my hand at her hip and squeezed a little to move her right where I wanted her, but she suddenly squealed and crumpled over on top of me, her face against my chest.

"Don't Eric!" she cried in a fit of laughter. I had worried at first that I had hurt her, but realized now what I had done.

"Don't what? This?" I asked as I put my hand back on her hip, squeezing where I had a moment before. She erupted in a fit of laughter, moving her body over mine in just the right way. "Oh Lover, do that again." I said as I tickled her side.

"Eric please," she said, and giggled again, "I can't breathe."

"This is your punishment for wearing clothes in bed with me Lover." I said as I gave her hip one last squeeze, and then pulled off the tank top that she had put on at some point during the day.

"Eric!" she cried, moving her hands to cover her chest, although she was still smiling.

"Sookie." I said, pulling her down to me, kissing her for everything I was worth.

* * *

We didn't get to Fangtasia until almost nine that night. It was two hours later than I had planned on, but like I told Pam, she was lucky that I showed up at all. I had wanted nothing more than to spend my night in bed with Sookie.

"Why am I lucky you showed up at all?" Pam asked as I took my seat in the 'throne' on the small stage in the bar. Pam stood at my side. I knew she could smell the sex on Sookie and myself when we had walked in. I had left Sookie to read in my office.

"We both know that you know why." I told her, looking out over the crowd.

"So, you've had her blood then? And she has had yours. You know what it means if you share to much with this girl."

"I am aware. I am your maker, of course I am aware."

"And is that what you're looking to have happen? Bond yourself the girl?"

"Pam, I'm not bonding with her."

"Whatever you say. Now, what are we going to do about her anyway. I'm just dying to know what excuse you have tonight for putting off getting this matter with the witches settled so that she can go back home where she belongs."

"Pam, you should give her a chance. She's not like other humans. She's… different. You two would get along quite well I imagine."

"Well, she won't be around long enough for that to happen though, will she."

"Pam, do I detect some jealousy?" I asked, the corner of my mouth curving up slightly as I looked from the crowd in the bar up to my child.

"Please. Jealous of that blood bag. No. I am however worried about you. You may not see it, but you haven't been yourself since you found her. You've not only let her into your home, but you've given her your blood. The last time you gave a human your blood was me, and that was when you turned me." she said, now standing at my side, facing me. "Are you going to turn her?"

"If it's what she wants, yes."

"You would give her a choice? I don't remember you giving me a choice." she said.

"Bitter?"

"No, just another thing to add the growing list of strange shit you've done over the last four nights."

I could fight her all I wanted, but the fact was that she was right. I knew it. It had not escaped me that I had done quite a few things out of character over the last four nights. If Pam thought my actions had been strange over the last four nights, she might run screaming if she could see inside my head, be in my home with Sookie and myself. See the way I am with I am with her.

"I need you to call the shifter. Tell him to be here after closing, three a.m. Tell him to bring her brother, if he trusts him. We need to get a plan together to get these witches, this Hallow, taken care of, and get Sookie out of danger from her."

Pam crossed her arms across her chest , "Fine." she said, and left for my office.

* * *

A few of the human patrons came to me during the night, looking for attention, offering their blood, offering sex. As usual, Pam kicked them away from me. She took such pleasure in that. Although she seemed a little more aggressive that usual, but I figured it was due to the situation with Sookie and myself.

As soon as it was last call, I made my way back to my office and left Pam to close up for the night out in the bar. I came in to find Sookie sleeping on the couch. I went to my desk and let her sleep a little longer. I went through some business paperwork from my accountant, made a few appointments for myself and vampires requesting lodging in my area. It was amazing how far technology had come over my lifetime. It was also amazing at how nicely some vampires who had been around before it were adjusting.

When it was nearly two thirty, I put my work aside and went back over to the couch. I leaned down next to her and kissed her gently on the lips.

"You've got the best ways of waking me up." she smiled as she opened her eyes. She sat up on the couch and I sat next to her. She leaned her body against mine and relaxed against me. "What time is it?"

"About thirty minutes before the shifter gets here."

"Is this really necessary?" she asked, her voice full of annoyance.

"I think you know the answer to that."

"But what if it's not what I want?" she said as she turned her head to face mine.

"Hm, my little bull-shitter. I think we both know that deep down, you want it." I said, and she didn't know how right I was. I had had her blood, and she had had mine. I could feel her. I could feel the relief buried under the fear of regaining her memory. "It's going to be alright, you know. I wont let anything happen to you."

"I know." she said, almost defeated. "So what's going to happen?"

"We can talk about it when the shifter gets here. And he may be bringing your brother."

"Oh great." she said, and rolled her eyes. I laughed a little. "I know that I should be happy I guess, but really, all's I can think about is it's another person who's going to be disappointed that I don't know them."

"Another?"

"Yeah. Sam was pretty upset last night that I didn't remember him. He thought," she said, tapping her finger to her temple as she said it, "that seeing him last night might bring back my memory, or at least my memory of him. Or that I would be so happy to see someone who wasn't a vampire, and I'd go running into his arms or something. Well, he didn't think that until we went to your office anyways." she said, her anger rising slightly at recalling the events from the night before. I was a little surprised when it continued to rise even after she had stopped speaking.

"Sookie, what else did he say to you here in my office?"

"Just that I could trust him. That he was my friend." she said, averting her eyes.

"And?"

She hesitated a moment before she answered, still keeping her eyes from mine. "And that I needed to be careful around you. That I 'wasn't no fangbanger before, and he wasn't going to let me become one now'." she practically whispered.

I tore the leather right off the arm of the couch when she said that. "You are no fangbanger." I hissed through clenched teeth and fangs.

Sookie sat up then, and moved a little from me. I had frightened her. "I don't even know what one is." she said, staring at the torn leather.

"It's something you will never be. Not with me." I said, trying to soften my tone, half successfully. I pulled her back to me, and held her for a few more minutes before I heard a knock at the employee entrance. "They're here." I told her, and rose from the couch. "Come. Lets get this over with." I said as I pulled her up, and hugged her to me. "I want nothing more than to get you back home." I said, and winked at her. She blushed.

We walked out of the office as Pam was letting the shifter in the employee entrance. "Sookie, Pam, go to the bar. I'll be with you in a moment. Shifter, I need a word with you." I said, and Pam took Sookie by the shoulder and led her away. Pam could sense my mood, and I thought for a moment that Sookie could as well, but she let it go, and let Pam lead her down the hall. I turned to the shifter, and before his inferior senses could register, I had him by the neck, raising him just off the ground. "If I ever hear you refer to Sookie as a fangbanger in any capacity again, I will rip your fucking throat out. You're the reason she's in danger to begin with you stupid mutt. You call her your friend, yet you compare her to a lowly human when you and I both know she is much more than that. This is your only warning, and if it wasn't for Sookie, you wouldn't have gotten one." I growled at him, and then let go, letting his body fall to the ground. He simply nodded his head before rising and following me back out to the bar.

We found Sookie and Pam at the bar. Long Shadow, my business partner and bar tender, was pouring Sookie a drink.

"Hey Sam." Sookie greeted, looking to him and then to me.

"Hey Sook. Listen, your brother should be on his way." the shifter said, and then looked to me. "He can be trusted."

"What's his name again?" Sookie asked reluctantly.

"Jason. He's been worried sick about you. I let him in on what was going on. Let him know you were safe." the shifter replied.

No sooner had the shifter spoken than there was another knock at the employee door. Pam left to answer while Sookie and I had a seat at the bar. But I was back on my feet when I saw Pam walking back, with who I assumed was Sookie's brother, Jason, following.

And Bill fucking Compton right behind him.

"Look Master, Jason Stackhouse is here, and he brought a concerned neighbor with him!" Pam said as she rolled her eyes.

"Sheriff." Bill said as he nodded his head in my direction.

"Sookie, Jesus it's good to see you girl." Jason said, walking briskly to his sister, stopping right in front of her. He had seen her draw back at his approach, and was smart enough it seemed to know to give her a moment to adjust before he reached out to hug her. She hugged him back, but it was obvious to him, and everyone else in the room, that there was no feeling behind it. As far as she was concerned, she was hugging a perfect stranger.

"Hi Jason. So Sam told you what happened?" she asked as he released her.

"Yeah, sure did. You really don't remember me?" he asked, grasping her shoulders and staring her down.

For the first time, she seemed almost ashamed that she couldn't remember. Especially her own brother. "I'm sorry, I don't." she said.

"Well, that's alright Sook, don't you worry about it. We'll fix this. And if we can't, well, you're still my sister, and I'm still your brother, and that's all that matters." he said, smiling at her. Almost trying to cheer her up it seemed. But he was quite unsuccessful. Then he turned to me, extending his hand. I took it, reluctantly. "Hey there mister. I'm Jason, Jason Stackhouse. Just wanted to say thanks for helping Sook here out. Sam told me you found her, took her in."

"Yes." I said.

"Well," Jason said back, pulling his hand from mine, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "just wanted to say I was real grateful."

"Well, now that we're all here, why don't we get started." Pam said.

* * *

"So it's settled. Tomorrow night we meet back here. We will head to the empty house on the corner of Mayfair and Arncliffe. From there we call the witches, tell them we found Sook, lead them over there, and capture Hallow." the shifter said.

"No, we can't capture her, she's to powerful. She lost a lot of her coven when she was down in New Orleans." Pam said, looking to me. "But she's still strong on her own. There are only a few of her clan left, and they are trying to rebuild her so-called empire back up. Her brother Mark is still with her. If she is the one who cast the spell, he would be able to remove it. We wont have to keep her alive."

"Good." I said, leaning forward. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow." Everyone rose from their seats after that. It was well past four in the morning now.

"Good night Sook." Jason said to his sister. He gave her another hug, and this time she seemed more open to it. She even smiled. Sam smiled and nodded to Sookie, and followed Jason out towards the employee door. "Hey Bill, you coming?" he asked as they got to the hallway.

"No, but thank you Jason. I need to speak with Eric first. I will see you tomorrow." Bill said, nodding for Jason to continue on his way. The brother and shifter left, and Bill turned to first look at Sookie, then Pam, and then back to me. "Eric, may I speak with you alone for a moment. It's regarding… business from New Orleans."

He meant the Queen. "Yes. Come." I said, turning towards my office. Bill followed, leaving Sookie, Pam, and Long Shadow in the bar. Bill shut the door to my office behind him.

"What do you want Bill?" I said as I took a seat at my desk.

"Eric, due to the current circumstances, there is some business that I need to make you aware of. An order from the Queen." he said. I nodded for him to continue. "I was sent here by her majesty to procure a human. Sookie, to be precise."

My eyebrow went up, for just a moment. Then I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my desk. "Can you elaborate?"

"The Queen has information, from a close source to Miss Stackhouse, that she may be telepathic. The Queen would like to bring her to New Orleans."

"You mean take her to New Orleans."

"Either way, does it matter?"

"Not really." I said, but it did. I wouldn't let him do it. Sookie was mine. I knew what going to New Orleans meant. She would be forced to work for the Queen, against her will. If I knew the Queen, or her second, Andre, Sookie would be forced to bond with one of them.

"I was hoping to find her before Hallow got to her. But this might actually be better. Get Hallow out of the way, and get Miss Stackhouse at the same time."

"You would take her away tomorrow night? Do you think that is wise?" I asked.

"Why not?"

"Her brother will be expecting her. The shifter will be there. People will notice she's missing again."

"And that matters? Eric, I am on orders from the Queen. I was not supposed to speak of this, but given the current circumstances, it was… necessary. This would have been known to no one had Hallow not gotten to her first."

"There are human laws that she falls under. Her family, the shifter, they would report her missing. There would be an investigation into her disappearance this time. There are human laws that we have to adhere by now, you understand. You are mainstreaming, surely you understand."

"They would never be able to link her back to the Queen."

"And if they could?" I asked.

"Unless someone who knows of the plan tipped them off, there is no evidence to lead her back." Bill said, raising an eyebrow to me. He was making it very clear that if this did come back to the Queen, that it would clearly be from me. And Bill would make sure the Queen knew that.

I wanted to kill him right then. I thought of five different ways to do it in a matter of seconds. I was older than Bill, much older. He would be no match for me.

But the Queen would notice him missing. He was in my area. I had to think of another way.

"Then tomorrow. I can get the shifter out of the way. Pam and Long Shadow will not be a problem. You can take her after that." I said. Not meaning a word of it.

"Tomorrow." he said, and rose from his seat. "Thank you for your cooperation in this matter." And with that, Bill bowed slightly, and exited my office. I heard him leave out the employee door, and went out to the bar.

"Sookie, it's time for us to leave. Sunrise will be upon us soon, and we have much to discuss." I said as I met her at the bar. "Pam, be at my home tomorrow evening as soon as you rise. We need to speak."

"Yes, Master." she replied.

I took Sookie by the arm, and led her out of the bar. We were silent the rest of the way back to my home. I was sure she could sense my tense mood.

Once we were inside, I took her to my bedroom. Still nothing spoken between us. She got into my bed, and I stood at the foot of it, just staring at her.

"Shouldn't we take a shower first? Don't I smell like 'the shifter'?" she said, smiling nervously.

I gave her a small smile back. "Yes, but there is something more important that I need to discuss with you first." I said, and she must have seen the look in my eye. I was seconds away from breaking every piece of furniture in my room out of pure rage from the situation we had just been forced in to.

"Eric, what's wrong?" she asked, curling her body up, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"The other vampire there tonight, Bill, he was sent here to take you back to New Orleans with him."

"What? I don't wanna go to New Orleans. I thought he was there because he was a friend of Jason's."

"He latched on to Jason in hopes of finding you. Your brother is an idiot for trusting him. Did Jason tell you how he met Bill?"

"Yeah, he said that Bill moved into the house next to mine. Said that Bill came up to my house one night looking to meet the neighbors. Jason happened to be there locking up my place, and told Bill about how I was missing. Ever sense then, he said Bill's been offering his help in my search."

I made a mental note to punch the shifter in the face for trusting Sookie's brother. "There is a way we can prevent him from being able to take you from me." I told her.

"Can't I just say no? He can't just take me against my will."

"He can. It may be against human laws, but he could do it, and you wouldn't have a choice. As he pointed out to me earlier, he would be able to cover it up. No one would know where you went, who took you."

"Then how can we prevent it?" she asked in almost a whisper. She was nervous.

"If you are bonded to me, they cannot take you from me. From your home."

"Bonded?" she asked, looking at me quite puzzled.

"It would only be a blood bond, of course, not as strong as being pledged, but I believe that if we were bonded, it may hold the Queen off for some time. You may have to work for her, there is no choice in that matter if she wills it, but she would not be able to take you from… here."

"Queen? Eric, are you messing with me?" she said, half smiling.

"This is no joke Lover, I assure you. And yes, the Queen of Louisiana. There isn't time to get into that now however. What is important is that you understand what it is to bond, and if you chose to do so, we need to get started on it tonight. We don't have much of the night left, and we would need to complete it tomorrow evening before we left for Fangtasia. It would need to be in place before we see Bill."

"Okay, explain then."


	8. Chapter 8

**Evening everyone!**

**Well, I decided I wouldn't leave ya'll hanging until Sunday, so I got home from work today and wrote and wrote, and then wrote some more.**

**THANK YOU FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS!**

**It keeps me going on this every chance I get. And keeps my mind on it when I don't have the chance to write.**

**This is FOR SURE it until Sunday. I just won't have the time between now and then to do any writing.**

**So until Sunday!**

**Charlaine Harris rocks my socks, and owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**

* * *

I decided that Sookie would be better at ease if I joined her in bed. Not that I minded being in there with her anyway, but she looked nervous with me standing at the foot of the bed, staring at her. She moved to one side of the bed, and I got in on the other side. Once I was settled with my back against the headboard, I held open my arm, and she moved in next to me, resting her head and body against me.

"A blood bond is simply what it says it is. It's a bond between two people. If we were to bond, we would be connected to each other. I would be able to track you. We would have a link to each other. We would be able to feel each others emotions. We could use the bond to aid the other as well, regarding emotions. We would have a claim on each other. We would belong to each other."

"For how long?" she asked.

"Forever. Until death. Either yours, or my final death."

"Is there a way to break it?" she asked, and I felt a pain in my chest over that question.

"Not that I am aware. It can weaken over time if it isn't kept up, but it would always be there."

"How do you bond to someone?"

"We would share blood, a somewhat significant amount, at least three times."

"And by significant you mean…?"

"When you drank from me the night that you fell in the bathroom. That would be considered an acceptable amount to start the bond. When I fed from you last night, while we made love, that would count as well."

"So we've already got this started then?"

"Yes, but if you do not wish to complete it, we wont."

"But my other option is New Orleans." she said more as a point than as a question.

I lifted her chin with my finger so that her face was to mine, and our eyes met. I held her gaze. "Sookie, if you don't want to bond, there is another way. We could leave here. Leave the state, leave the country. But you would not be able to return."

"So then my options are bonding, going to New Orleans, or leaving the state, possibly the country." she said, but she didn't seem to be upset about it.

"If you wish to chose the third option, I would need to know now so that I can start making travel arrangements."

"You would go with me?" she asked, a bit puzzled.

"If they found that I let you escape, I would be punished for it, and I imagine that it may be severe. And aside from that, you would need someone to keep you safe. I wouldn't let you go alone." I told her, meaning every word of it. "Sookie, I find that I have… feelings for you."

She didn't seem shocked by that statement. "I have feelings for you to, Eric. But I'm not sure exactly what they are." she said, and then kissed me softly before continuing. "I don't know if it's love or not. I don't know what love feels like. If I was ever in love before, I don't remember it."

"It has been over a thousand years since I have been in love, and even then, I'm not sure if it was love. But if this is not love that I feel, it is close to it." I said, and she shook her head in understanding.

"So, how should we do this then?" she asked, sitting up and turning to face me. I raised an eyebrow to her in question. "Bond."

"We should only share once tonight. I don't want to weaken you to much. If we share once tonight, and then again tomorrow, you should be alright. I can take your blood first tomorrow, and then you can take mine. You will be stronger afterwards."

"I noticed that." she said, smiling slightly. "After drinking you blood before, I felt different."

"Now, it's nearly sunrise, we don't have much time. Come here." I told her, not really giving her a chance to come to me. I pounced, as she put it, earlier this evening. I pulled her under me, resting my body on hers, careful not to crush her. "This will be a more… pleasurable experience, for you, if we are making love." I told her.

"Well then, we better get started, you don't have much time." she said as she reached for the hem of my shirt and leaning up to close the gap between our lips.

I met her hurried pace with my own, and soon we were both naked. I positioned her beneath me and worked my kisses from her lips down to her navel, and then lower. I soon had her on edge from my talented fingers and tongue. "Watch me." I told her as I moved my mouth from her core over to her thigh, my favorite spot. I lightly kissed and licked the area I intended on feeding from.

"Now, Eric… please." she panted. I didn't hesitate a moment longer. I bit, and felt her walls clench around my fingers. She arched her back, screamed my name a time or two, and just as she was coming back down, I was back on top of her. I entered her slowly, and I could feel that she was ready to come for me again almost immediately. I wasn't far behind. I started slow, making sure she was teetering on the edge of another orgasm, and then started to move faster inside her.

She lifted her head slightly and began to kiss my neck, moving to my shoulder. "Sookie, bite." I practically growled to her. She stopped her kisses for a moment before kissing me one last time on the shoulder, and then sinking her teeth into my skin. That was enough for me. I thrust hard into her a few times as I came. Her mouth drawing my blood, the pull of it, seemed intensify the experience, and I felt like I had been drained in more ways than one, and it was glorious.

When she finished, she mimicked my actions when I drank from her. She licked and lapped at the wound until it closed. Not that it did anything to me like my saliva did to help her blood coagulate, but it still was a wondrous feeling. I moved to her side, laying on my back, and she curled her body up to mine.

There was already a small buzzing. Technically, we were bonded, although it was weak, and just in the beginning stages. If it was not fed, and soon, it would die. Like starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Creating a small smoldering; but if you didn't continue to rub those sticks together, the fire would never really start.

I had used my blood to heal the wounds on her feet the night I had found her. She had let me taste her blood when she cut her head open. Those times had been minimal amounts, but they were enough to create a small beginnings of a bond, one that would fade by the time the sun set this night.

I had had her blood three times now. Three significant times. I would only need to let her feed from me again, and this would be finished tonight. But I didn't want to make it feel forced. Even though that was exactly what it was in a way. But I would wait until tomorrow. I would make our minimal amount of time together before we confronted Hallow and her coven as enjoyable as possible. We would share blood again then. The smell of it would be fresh on both of us. Bill would not be able to question that the act had been done.

I was also quite sure he would tell the Queen almost immediately. I would most likely be punished for my act of defiance against the throne, but there was no undoing what we were going to do. But it didn't matter, because regardless of what they did to me, in the end, I would still have Sookie, and we wouldn't be on the run.

That was the other thing I was happy about. We wouldn't be running. I despised running. I was a Viking. I didn't run. But I would have, for Sookie, if she had not wanted to bond.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, pulling me back to the present, with her.

"Will you sleep the day here with me?" I asked.

"Of course." she said, smiling and leaning up to my lips to kiss me.

"Good night, Eric." she whispered into my mouth as she kissed me again. I didn't get the chance to answer, but it was the perfect way to fall asleep for the day.

* * *

When I woke, Sookie was in bed with me, and this time, she was naked. She was awake, tracking small circles on my chest. She hadn't noticed I had awoken, and was taken by surprise when I rolled our bodies so that I was on top of her. She let out a small scream when I did it, and then pinched my side before kissing me.

"Good morning. Or, good evening. Oh, you know what I mean." she said. I gave a deep laugh before lowering down and kissing her back. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Lover, I am always ready." I said, wagging my eyebrows at her. "We don't have much time, I'm afraid. Pam will be here soon."

"Well then, lets make it a good one." she said, winking at me.

We soon found ourselves on the edge of release. I was sitting on knees, legs beneath me. Sookie was straddling me, legs wrapped around my back. I was holding on to her, one arm around her waist, and one around her mid back. Our foreheads pressed together, her hands wrapped around my neck for some leverage and she rose and fell, impaling herself on me.

"Eric… oh God… almost." she panted. I kissed her neck, marking the spot where I intended to feed. "Eric… thank you." she said, and then she came, biting down on my shoulder as she did. I roared, and sank my fangs into her. Sookie slowed her movements as we rode out our orgasm together until we both collapsed to the bed.

"It's done." I told her as her breathing finally started to slow.

"I feel it. I feel… you." she said and turned to me.

I heard the front door open then. "Pam's here. It's almost time to leave." I said, and after a few more meaningful kisses, we exited the bed. Sookie put on her pajamas, and then headed to her room, while I threw on some clothes and went to the living room.

I found Pam sitting on the couch. "The Queen knows about Sookie's telepathy. Bill was sent to procure her." I said as I sat in the chair across from her. Pam rolled her eyes.

"How the hell does the Queen know about her?" she asked.

"I don't know. But I will find out. As for tonight, Bill is expecting to take her back to New Orleans after we deal with the witches."

"But you wont let that happen, will you." she said, crossing her arms. "How do you plan on stopping Bill? You know, you'll have the Queen to answer to for that one. She wont react well to being disobeyed you know."

"I know. But you know what would happen to her if we let them take her. I know what you think of humans, but you must admit, Sookie is different."

"She is. I find her… amusing. I can see why you like her." Pam said, the smallest smile flashing across her face before it disappeared. "So, how are we stopping Bill?" she asked.

"It's already been done." I told her, just as Sookie emerged from her bedroom, and found us in the living room.

"Hey Pam." Sookie said as she walked to my side. Pam nodded, and then her eyes went wide. She looked from myself to Sookie, and back again.

"Jesus Eric, you didn't." Pam said, looking back to Sookie.

"As I said, it's been done. Bill will not be leaving with Sookie tonight."

"The Queen is going to have your head Eric." Pam said, as she shook hers. "But it's going to be a lot of fun, isn't it." she said, flashing Sookie a mischievous grin.

* * *

Not long after, the three of us found ourselves in the parking lot of Fangtasia. We had parked in the back, and found the shifter, Jason, and Bill already waiting for us.

"I brought someone who might be able to assist us this evening." Bill said as we gathered. He motioned to his car, and a young woman, around Sookie's age, stepped out. "This is Amelia Broadway. She is a witch, from New Orleans." Bill announced. Amelia walked towards Bill, stopping just behind him and to his side.

"Hey." she said, waiving at each of us. Sookie smiled at her and waived back.

"Tell them what you will be doing tonight." Bill said to Amelia.

"Well, when we get there, I've got a spell that will help to hide your 'signatures' from Hallow and her coven. They wont sense anyone there except for a human," she said, pointing to Jason Stackhouse, "and Sookie. They also wont be able to tell it's her brother. Once they are in the house, I've got another one that will make them feel disoriented and indecisive. I've also got a few other tricks I can use." she said, smiling to herself. She seemed eager to use those tricks.

"Good. Then we leave. Jason, you park in front of the home. The rest of you, park at least two streets away, then make your way quickly to the house." I said, and then turned with Sookie to head back to my car.

* * *

"You're scared." I said once we were on our way.

"And oddly, you're excited." she said, smiling at me.

I took her hand in mine and smiled back. "Why are you scared?" I asked.

"I'm worried someone's going to get hurt or killed. And it's gonna be my fault."

"How would it be your fault?"

"It would be for trying to protect me, trying to break whatever spell Hallow put on me. People are risking their life for me."

"I think that at least half of them would agree however, that you are worth the risk." I said, bringing her hand to my lips, kissing it.

"And what do you think?" she asked.

"Oh, you are worth the risk."

* * *

"Hi there, my names Abby. Are you the person putting up the picture of that missing girl?" Pam said as she made the call to the number Hallow had left on the 'Missing Person' flyers. "Oh that's great. Well, I was calling to tell you that I think I've found her. She's here at my home. Poor thing, found her wandering down the road. She doesn't seem to know who she is." Pam said. Quite the actress. I could hear that it was Hallow on the other end. Her and Pam spoke for a few more minutes before Pam said she would see them in thirty minutes, and hung up the phone.

Amelia set about casting her spells while Jason and the shifter took to one side of the room. I urged Sookie to join them when I saw Bill approaching.

"Eric, may I speak with you alone for a moment?" he asked.

I nodded to Pam, and she left to find Amelia. "What now Bill?" I said once Pam was gone.

"Pam is aware to dispose of Sam Merlotte and Jason Stackhouse once the Hallow situation is taken care of tonight?"

"Change of plans Bill. You wont be leaving here with Sookie." I said quite bluntly.

"And why is that? These are orders from the Queen, Eric. She will be coming with me."

"Sookie and I are bonded."

Bill just shook his head a few times before answering. "The Queen will not be pleased to hear that." he said, turning to look at Sookie for a moment before turning back to me. " Strange that you bond with a human that you have known less than a week."

"Strange that the Queen would seek to obtain someone in my area without coming to me about it." I replied.

"There was a deadline in getting to her before Hallow did. We had to act fast."

"Well, what's done is done."

"Yes, it is." he said, and walked away, pulling out his cell phone as he did. No doubt calling the Queen to report that Sookie and I were bonded. I wondered what kind of trouble Bill was going to get in for not being able to return with Sookie. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be enough.

After Bill walked away, Pam and Amelia emerged from a back room somewhere. "Spells are set Master." Pam said.

"Good. Sookie, I think it's time you and Jason headed back to my car. They will be here soon." I said, tossing my keys to Jason. Sookie came to me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Please be careful." she said, and I leaned down and captured her lips.

"It wont be long." I said, and then reached in my pocket, retrieving my cell phone and handing it to her. "Pam will call you once it is over and give you instructions." I said. I kissed her once more, and then her brother led her out of the house. Amelia left the house, and went to the back yard to do the 'other tricks' she had spoken of earlier I suspected.

* * *

We didn't have to wait long. Pam looked to me. "They're here." she said. I looked to the shifter who was now a lion, then over to Bill and Pam. There was a knock on the door, and Pam said, "Come in." in the 'Abby' voice she had used on the phone.

The door opened and the witches started to enter the home. They were led by a man, who I assumed was Hallow's brother, Mark. He was followed by two other woman, and then Hallow. I was standing behind the door, and as soon as Hallow had entered I slammed it shut, trapping them inside. They had weapons on them. They must not have been planning on leaving the people they thought they would be collecting Sookie from alive.

Almost instantly, a black fog began to fill the room. I could only guess that it was Hallow trying to disorient her attackers. There were four of them, and four of us. It was hardly a battle, and I was a little disappointed. Bill quickly took out one of the female witches, and the shifter took out another. It was almost humiliating what had happened to Hallow's oven. I had heard of her before. Heard of her power. It was pitiful what it had been reduced to. She had been to greedy.

It was now just Mark and Hallow against the shifter, Bill, Pam, and myself. "Take him." I said to them, as I took Hallow. She had a stake, but was no match for me. Her neck made the most beautiful cracking noise as it broke.

Pam was tying Mark's hands behind his back, and then knocked him unconscious. "Take him to Fangtasia." I said to Bill and the shifter. Pam handed him off and Bill and the shifter, who was once again human, and getting dressed, and they left. "Call Sookie, tell her I am on my way. Take care of the bodies, and meet back at Fangtasia." I said, then headed out to find my Lover.

* * *

"I'm taking Sookie home. Call me if you get anywhere with him." I said to Pam as I carried Sookie out of my office. It was nearly three in the morning. Sookie had fallen asleep at some point in my office while Pam, Bill, and I had been 'interrogating' the witch.

Sookie woke as I was buckling her in. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing yet. The witch still wont talk. But he will… eventually. Pam is good at persuading people to talk." I said.

We drove home in silence. I could feel Sookie's exhaustion. She felt my worry over her current state. "I didn't sleep well today. I kept waking up. Nightmares." she said.

"You don't have anything to worry about now, Lover. The rest are dead. Hallow's brother will talk soon. And you don't have to worry about Bill."

"I know."

Once we were home, I carried her inside, although she protested a little, in the end, she let me do it. She finally talked me into letting her down when we got to the hallway. "I just want to splash some water on my face, freshen up a little. I'll be right out." she said as she made her way to the bathroom. I grabbed her arm as she started to walk away and pulled her to me. I captured her mouth, kissing her to the point that her knees started to give way, and I was holding her up.

"Don't be long."

I went to my room and undressed down to my boxer shorts. Sookie came in a few minutes later in nothing but her bra and panties. I wagged my eyebrows at her, and growled a little. She blushed, and started to make her way to the bed. She stopped suddenly and put her hand up to her head. "Eric." she whispered. I felt the pain coming from her, and as I rose to go to her side, she vanished.

* * *

**Sorry about the cliffie! I couldn't help myself!**

**See ya'll Sunday!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy Sunday!**

**A/N at the end.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**This chapter is Sookie's POV.**

**Snoogans!**

* * *

I put my hands at my temples and closed my eyes. I had a splitting headache all of the sudden. I knew Sam's desk was right in front of me, so I leaned forward and put a hand out to brace myself against it. Soon, the pain subsided, and I was able to open my eyes.

But Sam's office was not how it had been a minute ago. The lights were off. Where was Sam? Where was that Hallow person? I looked around. And then I realized I was in nothing but my bra and panties. But I wasn't sure they were mine. I didn't have anything THIS nice. This looked expensive.

And where the hell were my clothes?

"Sam?" I called out, although it only actually came out in a whisper. My mouth and throat were dry. I took a few steps and found my legs a bit wobbly, but I kept moving. I left Sam's office, and found the bar was closed. I looked back into his office. It was after three in the morning according to the clock on the wall. How had it skipped ahead two and a half hours?

"Niall?" I said, hoping that maybe my great grandfather had something to do with this. But there was no reply.

I went to the small closet in Sam's office and found a shirt that I could put on. It was a large shirt, so it managed cover enough to constitute a short, and I mean short, dress. I made my way out the back door, and over to Sam's trailer. His truck was there, but all his lights were off.

I knocked on the door a few times. "Sam, it's Sookie." I said, not sure what else to say other than that. I didn't exactly need help. I knocked again, and saw a light come on inside. Sam opened the door, and just stared at me sideways.

"Sookie?" he said, half awake apparently.

"Yeah. Um, can you explain something for me?" I asked. It was just surreal. I felt as dumbfounded as Sam looked at seeing me. He shook his head that he could, but was looking at me like I was the one who had lost my mind. "Can I come in?" I asked, and he jumped, and opened the door, still in a silent shock it seemed.

I went in to the trailer, standing just inside the door. Sam had only backed up a few steps. "Sook?" he asked, almost hesitantly.

"Sam, what the heck is going on?" It was the only thing I could think of to summarize the last five minutes. I had barely finished that sentence when Sam practically knocked me to the ground with the force of the hug he gave me. He clung to me for dear life. "Sam, stop, you're scaring me." I finally said when he didn't seem like he was going to let go.

"Sook, Jesus, is it really you?" he asked, ending the hug, but taking my shoulders in his hands and holding me at arms length. Staring at me like he was seeing a ghost.

"Yeah, it's me. What's going on? Why was I in your office practically naked just now?"

"What do you mean? You were in my office? Where's Eric?"

"Who's Eric?" I asked, and Sam's eyes must have grown three times as big. I thought they might come out for a moment.

"Sook, whats the last thing you remember?" he said, and gripped my shoulders a little tighter. And I couldn't do anything but stand there holding down the bottom of the shirt, trying to be as modest as I could in nothing but a bra, panties, and a shirt at three in the morning.

"I was in your office with you picking up my check. That Hallow lady was there, trying to shake ya down. She called me a nasty name and I slapped her. Then I had a splitting headache, and then when I opened my eyes, the office was dark, and I was in my under things." I said, lowering my voice to a whisper when I got to my personals.

"Sookie, that was almost a week ago." he whispered back.

I didn't know how to respond to that. I opened my mouth twice to say something, but stopped, because I honestly didn't know what to say. Then Sam's cell phone rang, and he went back to his kitchen to grab it from the table. I was still in shock from what he had just said. I wasn't even questioning it, because I knew Sam better than that. He wouldn't mess around with me like that. Not after everything else I had been through.

Sam answered the phone, and then was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Yeah, she's here." pause, "She's fine." another pause, "No, you probably shouldn't come right now." another pause, "She doesn't remember any of it." he said, and then whoever was on the other line hung up.

"Sam, what's going on? Who was that?" I said, and realized I was shaking a little.

"We can talk about that tomorrow chere. Look, maybe you should stay here tonight. I don't think it's safe for you to go back home just yet."

"Sure… alright." I said as Sam seemed to take in the sight of me for the first time, really look at me. He noticed what I was wearing, or lack of, and left to the back of the trailer, only to return a moment later with a pair of sweatpants. He tossed them to me and turned his back while I pulled them on. Once I was feeling a little warmer, and modest, Sam took a seat on the couch, and I sat next to him.

It took a little coaxing, and a threat to leave and go back to my home to get him to tell me what had happened, but he finally did. He told me about Hallow putting the spell on me, sending me away. He told me about the vampire Eric finding me and taking me in. he told me about what had happened earlier that night as well. Luring Hallow and her little group to the abandoned house, and then "taking care of them." as he put it. "As far as what happened in between that, with you and Eric, I think I'm going to let him talk to you about that."

"I can't believe you left me with a stranger." I told him as I took a sip from the water Sam had gotten me. "A vampire to boot."

"I know Eric, actually. He's a… business associate. And with everything that was happening it was good that you stayed out of Bon Temps. If I had you, Hallow would have found you. And that would have been bad. I was a little selfish about it at first, and I did try to take you home once I found out that Eric had you."

"So why didn't you?"

"You didn't want to go with me. You wanted to stay with him."

"But Sam, I wasn't in my right mind. You should have forced me."

"Like you let anyone tell you what to do chere." he said with a sigh and a small laugh. "Even if you didn't remember you, that at least stayed the same."

I thought that over for a moment, and pushed the nagging thought of why I would have trusted the vampire Eric so much when Sam had been presented as a friend, to the back of my mind. "So, if she's gone, and obviously whatever curse she put on me has been lifted, why is it a good idea that I stay here?" I said, finally deciding to argue the issue on my not going home that night.

"Eric said that there is still one issue, one that he wants to explain to you. And he will, tomorrow night. We can call him, or I can take you over to his bar." Sam said, and then there was a knock at the door. "Damnit!" Sam mumbled to himself as he got up to answer it.

"Where is she?" the man at the door said when Sam answered. He looked right over Sam's shoulder, and straight at me. It wasn't hard for him to do that either, he was tall, very tall, and very handsome, and very blonde. His blue eyes blazed at me from across the room. I was instantly attracted to him, and I think that my heart even skipped a beat. And it was almost as if he could tell what I was feeling, because he smiled right at me, and it was a devilish grin.

It was then that I felt relief. And some of the fear and worry that I had felt was practically gone. But I realized all of those feelings weren't mine.

The man at the door didn't even seem to acknowledge Sam, he just continued to look over his shoulder, right at me. "I need to speak with you." he said to me.

Sam just stood in the doorway. He was thinking that there was no way in hell he was inviting him in, even if he could rescind the invitation, he didn't want him stinking up the place. I heard Sam think that clear as day, which was unusual, unless Sam was trying to think something directly at me, or was really pissed off. He was a good sender when he was pissed. Otherwise, Sam was just a scramble of images, colors, or sounds.

Then I realized that I wasn't getting anything from the man at the door. Not a peep. He had a look on his face like he was thinking, but I couldn't hear a darn thing. It was just a small buzz, and a blank spot where there should be a mind.

"Are you Eric?" I asked.

"I am." he replied. Two simple little words, but they oozed sex. I felt a tingle in my spine, but shook it off. I felt the sudden urge to jump up from the couch and into his arms. But he was a stranger, and I wasn't that kind of girl.

"Look, she's had a rough night. Why don't I bring her by Fangtasia tomorrow?" Sam said, and I snickered a little at the name of what I assumed was Eric's bar. Eric had still not taken his eyes off me, but now Sam turned around at my laughter. "She'll be fine here." Sam said, turning back to Eric.

"Don't let Compton anywhere near her." Eric said to Sam, looking at him for the first time that night.

I stood then, and went to the door, standing next to Sam. "Look, thank you for, well, everything. And as much as I want to know about what happened, the parts that Sam wont fill in, I'm exhausted, and my head is killing me. Tomorrow?" I said, and gave the best smile that I could muster at that moment.

"Tomorrow." Eric said, well, practically growled. I was a little afraid of him in that moment, but as soon as the fear hit me, there was a calm trying to smother it, and Eric's face softened.

He turned to walk away, and that was when it hit me. "How are you doing that?" I asked. He reached the opening between the bar and the trailer and turned to me.

"Tomorrow." he said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and then he took off into the sky.

Sam closed the front door and turned to me. "I'll take you there when they open tomorrow. For now, you can take my bed chere."

"No, I'm fine on the couch, really. I wont feel right taking your bed. I'm sure you have to work tomorrow. And I'm not opposed to taking a shift if you need me to. I can go to my place and get my uniform and a change of clothes."

"You don't have to work tomorrow." he said, heading to his hallway to get some linens for the couch. "But if you do want to go home, you aren't going my yourself. I'll come with you. Daylight or not, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone." he said as he returned to the living room with a pillow and sheets and a blanket.

"You know, a year ago, I would have argued with you about that. I would have put up more of a fight for my independence. But now…" I said, and trialed off. Sam didn't need me to finish that sentence. He knew. I was more careful after I was kidnapped. And if Sam was worried about me being alone, well, I was going to listen.

"I think Eric knows about your scars. I think he knows about Niall. About what you are." Sam said as we finished turning the couch into a bed. I froze. I didn't tell anyone about that. It was my personal business. It was a painful memory. It was painful in other ways as well, but that was being fixed by my great grandfather Niall.

"I told him?" I asked, a little puzzled. But then I realized I didn't know who I was according to Sam. How would I have known that I didn't share that secret.

"I think so. I made sure to tell you about them in private, but I think you told him afterwards."

"So I was pretty latched on to him?" I asked and laughed a little. I didn't know why. Nervous laughter was what I chalked it up to.

Sam's face grew serious then. "Sookie… never mind."

"What?" I asked, the laughter gone. Sam just turned, taking the glass of water I had from the table, and bringing to it to the kitchen. "Sam, what?" I said, following him. He poured the water into the sink and rinsed out the glass.

"You slept with him Sook." Sam said, and he sounded bitter. My knees went weak and I grabbed the counter for support. Sam didn't make a move to catch me, but I was able to catch myself. I wasn't even sure he noticed. He was just staring into the sink. Tears filled my eyes.

"I what? How do you know? Did I tell you? Did he tell you?"

"It was pretty obvious."

"But neither of us ever said so? So you aren't sure?" I said, trying to make it not real.

"I'm sure." he said, and then went back to the living room. He kicked off the shoes that he had put on earlier, and sat back on the couch. "It's late, and it's going to be a long day tomorrow. Take my bed. Good night Sook." he said, and laid down, pulling the blanket up over him.

"Did he rape me?" I asked, not nearly as ready as he was to end this conversation.

"No."

"Did he force me with whatever that thing is vampires can do?"

"Glamour? I don't know. Maybe." Sam said, turning off the light. "Sook. It's done. You can't undo it. I'm sorry, I really am, but right now, you should just go to bed."

I turned on my heel and headed to Sam's bedroom. I hadn't said good night. I hadn't said anything after that. I just laid in his bed and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

We didn't talk about it at all the next day. Sam had dropped a pretty big bombshell the night before, and after thinking about it all night, and half the day, I still was in shock.

I wasn't exactly saving myself for marriage. I had tried to date, to have a normal life. But it's pretty hard when you can hear everything your date is thinking. Dating or getting married, or having kids just didn't seem like it was in my future, and I had accepted that. There was no way I would really be ever to have sex with a man I thought. So learning that I had was a shock. And the worst part was that I couldn't remember any of it.

I was also curious about the circumstances. Had Eric glamoured me? Sam had said I had at least retained my willfulness while I was cursed. I couldn't picture willingly hopping into bed with someone I hardly knew, even if I didn't remember who I was.

But from the moment that I had seen Eric last night, it didn't seem likely that he would have taken advantage of me. There was something there, between us, even if I didn't remember what it was. I felt connected to him. He seemed familiar. But I couldn't quite place how or why.

That was all that I had been able to think about all day. Sam had taken me in the morning back to my place. I had grabbed a few changes of clothes, and my uniform. I took my necessities from the bathroom, and then we headed back to his trailer. He left to open the bar, and I made myself at home. There had been no reason for Sam to tell me to do that either. We were good friends. He was more of a best friend. He had been there for me when I needed him most last year. I took a nap before I went to the bar for the afternoon shift. Sam only let me work a few hours that day, because he said that we were leaving at sundown to go see Eric, and that it was going to be a long night.

So now, it was nearly sunset. Arlene had come in to take my place for the rest of the dinner shift, and she was going to close up that night. Everyone had been so welcoming to see me back. Sam had been real good about getting the other waitresses to leave me alone with it came to the details about my disappearance, and that they should just be happy that I was back. Some of the customers, the regulars, where happy to see me back as well. They had all apparently seen the 'Missing Person' poster that Sam said Hallow had put up, so it was no secret that I was gone, and not on vacation.

"Sookie, it's time to go." Sam said as I passed him at the bar. "Go get changed. I'll meet you out by my truck."

I had put careful consideration into what I had brought to wear from my house. But now, standing in Sam's bedroom, looking over all of it, none of it seemed right. I mean, what did you wear when you met the vampire that took care of you for a week, and that took your virginity, when you meet him for the first time, because everything that had happened, him taking you in, and sleeping with you, you didn't remember.

I hadn't realized how long I had been standing there trying to decide what to wear, which believe me, was a first, when I heard Sam honk the horn on his truck. Under pressure, I decided with jeans and a cranberry red sweater that covered up my scars. It wasn't a chilly night, but if I was going to be out in public, I needed something to cover up the scars. I thought about the next time I would see Niall, I would ask him to start working on my legs. I so desperately wanted to be able to wear shorts again to work.

"Sorry." I said as I got into Sam's truck. "I didn't have a 'You took me in off the road, and we had sex, nice to meet you.' outfit."

The corners of Sam's mouth pulled up for a split second before we drove off.

* * *

When we got to Fangtasia, I rolled my eyes at the neon sign out front. It just seemed surreal. Here I was, at a vampire bar, in Shreveport, owned by a stranger who apparently knew me quite well, but I had no memory of. And that name was still ridiculous. Fangtasia.

Sam parked around the back. There was a bright red corvette parked back there as well. It must have been to early for the bar to open, because there were no other cars in the front or back parking lot.

"I'll wait here for you." Sam said as he turned off his truck.

"You aren't coming with me?" I said, a little scared to go into a vampire bar on my own.

"I have a feeling that if I did go with you, he would just end up asking to speak with you alone anyway. And I'm sure you don't want me around for any of the personal details." he said, and I could hear a little pang of hurt in his voice. I sighed and opened the door to the truck. When I looked towards the back door to the bar, Eric was standing there waiting for me. He smiled as I approached, and I looked over to Sam, who waived me on, as I went into the bar.

He took me inside and then to the right where there was an office. I assumed it was his. He closed the door behind him, and then as I turned to face him, he was right in front of me. His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me to him. His face dipping down and nuzzling my neck. I was glued to my spot, and I don't think I could have pulled away if I had wanted to. I had heard vampires were very strong.

"Sookie." he whispered into my neck, sending a chill down my spine.

"Please let me go." was all I could think of to say. I wasn't scared, but I was uncomfortable as all heck with this stranger invading my personal space. He did as I asked, and then motioned for me to have a seat on the couch that was there. I took a seat in the chair at his desk instead, because the couch seemed to intimate, and he quirked an eyebrow before taking his seat behind his desk. "So…" I said, not sure where to go from there.

"You don't remember our time together?" he asked.

"No. None of it. What happened last night? How did I end up in Sam's office?" I asked, leaving out the part about ending up there in just a bra and panties.

"After the small scuffle last night, we returned here to Fangtasia. We captured Hallow's brother, Mark. We worked on him for a while, trying to get him to remove the curse from you. Eventually, I took you home, and when we were getting ready… for bed, you clenched the side of your head, and then you vanished."

"Sam said that when I went missing, I had vanished from his office. When I came-to there last night, I was in the same spot I had last remembered being in." I had ignored his part about getting ready for bed. I was pretty sure now that I knew what that meant.

"It seems that when Mark undid the curse, it undid everything." he said, almost to himself.

"How much do you know about me?" I asked after a moment. "What did I tell you?"

"Not much. You did not remember much of anything about yourself. We only discovered your name after Hallow showed up here with a picture of you."

"But I told you about my scars?" I asked.

"The shifter told you about them, because you had not known where they came from. You told me that there were two fairies who had done it. You told me how bad it had been, but that Niall and Claudine would come to help heal your scars."

"That's all?"

"That was all the detail on the scars that you were wanting to share at the time."

"Did I tell you anything else?" I asked.

"If you are wondering if I am aware of your… heritage, I am. You only confirmed what I already suspected however. I had had your blood. Tell me, are you related to Niall?" he asked, leaning forward. Like it was a mystery we had once had that he now wanted solved.

"He's my great grandfather. Claudine is a cousin."

"I've known him for a very long time, although I have not seen him in decades."

I decided to ask the question that I really just wanted to avoid. "Did we have sex?"

"Yes." he said, quite simply.

"But I didn't know who I was. You took advantage of me." I whispered, getting the confirmation on what Sam said he had suspected. A feeling of sadness swept over me then. It was coming from him. I glanced up to find him with his head down.

"It was not like that Sookie."

"Why can I feel your emotions? How can you control mine?" I asked, changing the subject. I felt very uncomfortable.

"I cannot control them Sookie. You are simply feeling mine, as I can feel yours."

"Why?"

"There is a vampire, Bill Compton, who moved in next door to your home in Bon Temps. He came here looking for you the same time the witches did. He knows about your gift. He was sent here to procure you. To bring you back to New Orleans with him, for the Queen."

"Sophie-Anne?" I asked, which seemed to take him by surprise.

"How do you know her?"

"I may not have ever met a vampire before, but my cousin, Hadley, she's Sophie-Anne's… girlfriend. I still talk to Hadley every now and then. She's a talker." I said. I hadn't wanted to refer to my cousin as a 'pet', even though, that was what she was. Like I had said, I may not have ever met a vampire, but in the last year, I had learned a lot of things that I would have been happy to go on not knowing.

"Sophie-Anne wants you as part of her court. As her resident telepath. She wanted to take you from your home, have you work for her."

"If that's the case, how come I'm not there now? She could have made it happen. I'm not stupid. Niall has made me very aware of the world."

"We talked about that the night before last. We didn't have many options, because if she wanted you, she could have taken you. Bill could have taken you to her. But we found a solution that you were accepting of."

"And that was?"

"We are bonded." he said quite plainly. But I could feel the swell of… love?… build up from him.

"Can you elaborate on that?" I asked, and he did. And when he was done, I was sorry I had asked. I felt like my freedom had been taken from me in a way. I was now bound for eternity to this man, this vampire, that I hardly knew. From what he had described, I would always be able to feel him, to some capacity, and he would be able to feel me. I felt like my privacy had been taken as well, because now everything I felt was on display for him.

"It was what you chose Sookie. Knowing what you know now, knowing the other options, would you chose different?"

"Yes. I would have called for Niall. He could have helped me."

"Perhaps not. I don't think he would be looking for a conflict to arise again between fairies and vampires. Even if you are his great granddaughter."

"But it would have been worth a try. He could have done something." I said, feeling defeated.

This seemed to raise the anger level in Eric to almost boiling, and I was fighting to keep it down in me. I felt like it was consuming me. I brought a hand to my chest. The rage building there was almost to much for me to handle. Eric must have sensed it, and then I felt almost nothing from him.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"You can do it as well. You can control it. If you don't want me to feel you, you can block me out, just as I blocked you out now."

"Good. Keep doing that." I said, and rose.

"Where are you going?" he asked, rising as well.

"I think I've had enough. I'm going to talk to Niall, see if he can undo… this." I said, motioning between us. "See if he can do something about Sophie-Anne. And then I'm going to make sure Hadley knows that my business is none of hers to share, because I'm sure that's how the Queen found out about me. Now, you said that since we are bonded, Bill can't take me right?"

"Correct." was all he said. He apparently had no comment for the rest of my little speech, and if it affected him, I couldn't feel it anymore.

"Good, then I'm having Sam take me home."

"Stay with me a while longer." he said as I reached the door. He was at my side then. He turned me to him, and took my face between his hands. "If you only remembered. You would stay." he whispered to me, regret in his voice.

"But I don't remember."

"May I at least take you home?" he asked, still holding my face in his hands.

I thought about it for a moment. I thought about my own feelings then. There was something between us, but I wasn't sure if I trusted it. It didn't seem real. I felt like I knew him, but not just a feeling like I was remembering our week together, it was something more. More than that week, more than the bond.

"Fine. Take me home."

* * *

**Okay, so probably won't have another post until Tuesday, and then after that, I can assure you, nothing again until Sunday.**

**I've got one crazy birthday week ahead, and the fun starts Wednesday when I get outa work. :)**

**So hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter. I know a lot of you were rooting for Sookie to keep her memories, but you know it couldn't have been that easy right?**

**See ya'll on Tuesday!**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy Tuesday!**

**Thank you ALL so much for your awesomeness! I'm so happy everyone is enjoying it. And I love reading your thoughts and reactions! YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS!**

**Well, this is it until Sunday. Have a GREAT week everyone, and have a AWESOME St. Patrick's Day!**

**Snoogans!**

* * *

"Shifter, I will be taking her home. You may leave." Eric said as we walked out the back door of Fangtasia. Sam rolled his eyes, but looked to me before making a move. I nodded my head that it was fine, and he started his truck and drove off.

I elbowed Eric in the stomach as we walked to what I had correctly assumed was his car. "You didn't have to be so rude to him." I said.

"How was I rude?" he asked, and he seemed quite sure that he hadn't.

"Well, first off, his name's Sam, not 'shifter'. Second, you practically ordered him." I said as we reached the passenger door. Eric opened it for me. He merely chuckled at my points. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes as I took a seat in the corvette.

Eric got in the driver seat and we were off. And I mean we were off. It was like he was suddenly in the Indy 500, and I was the unwilling passenger. "Could you slow down please." I asked, feeling like I was grabbing onto the seat for dear life. "And why don't you have your seat belt on?" I said, practically screaming the last bit as we took a sharp corner. Eric just laughed.

"You said that same thing to me the night we met." he said, looking over at me. "I'm an excellent driver. My reflexes are unmatched. We will be fine." he said, taking another sharp turn towards the highway entrance. If this was how he drove on surface streets, I was terrified at what he was going to do on the highway. I had to think fast.

"You know, the faster we get to my place, the less time we have." I said, and that seemed to get his attention. He slowed down, not much, but at least this was an acceptable speed.

"Sookie. I want you to know that I did not take advantage of you. I've never had to take advantage of a woman before, and I never will. We had an attraction to each other then. And I think you even feel it now." he said as we made our way down the highway.

"I know you didn't. I was just upset. I haven't had it easy when it comes to relationships. And now that it seems one came so easy, I can't even remember it." I said, and was a bit sad thinking about it. "Did you know I was… I mean, did you know that I hadn't…" I said, and blushed. I felt like a prude. I couldn't even say the word 'virgin' to the man that I had slept with.

He seemed to find this quite amusing, because he let out a laugh deep from his gut. "Sookie, I knew. You had thought that you were a virgin, but I confirmed it for you before we went any further." he said. I was suddenly very hot. I rolled the window down a little. Eric seemed to sense it, what I was feeling. I hadn't shut myself off to him. I didn't even know how. "You are curious." he said after a few minutes. And damn him, he was smirking.

"Well, yes." I said. There was just no other way to say it.

"It was spectacular." he said.

"You can't mean that. I didn't know what I was doing." I said, rolling my eyes. I was doing that a lot around him.

He took my hand, and my eyes shot to him. "I told you this once before. There may be times when I won't tell you everything I know, but I will never lie to you Sookie."

We were silent the rest of the way back to my home as I took that information in. He pulled into my driveway and groaned a little over the potholes and patches in the gravel, but didn't say anything. He parked and I reached to open the door when he grabbed my hand again. "Wait. Stay with me a little longer." he said. I lowered my arm and leaned back in the seat. "When you were with me, I wanted you. It was no secret between us. But you were not ready. When you were, you came to me. And although it would have been a struggle, even with my self control being what it is, I would have stopped if you had asked."

"Thank you." I said, not really knowing what else to say. I was thankful that he was being open and honest. Everything that I hadn't expected. But I guess that came with the bond, he wouldn't be able to hide that from me. And although he had said he had closed himself off from me, so that I wasn't in emotional overload from his and my emotions, I could still feel him there.

"I want to see you again." he said, and the way that he said it made me feel like he hadn't said that in this way to someone in a very long time. Which made what I said next hard. But I had to suck it up.

"Eric, thank you for taking me in. For taking me off the road. For keeping me safe in your home. For making it possible for me to get my memories back. And for keeping me from being forced to New Orleans." I said, and tears unexpectedly welled in my eyes. I didn't even have a chance to try to stop them as they spilled over. "But this is to much. I can tell how you feel about me, and I just don't feel the same." I said, and started to get out of the car. This time, he didn't stop me, but as I made my way to the door, he didn't drive off either.

I stuck my key in the door, and turned the lock, only to find Eric's hand grasping mine. I turned to face him, to tell him to just let me be, but he spoke first.

"Stop it Sookie, stop it." he said, and then he leaned down and kissed me. And it wasn't just a peck, it was a kiss. I fought a little at first, I pushed against his chest, but he wasn't going anywhere. Without even thinking about it, my arms found themselves moving from pushing against his chest to wrapping around his neck, my body folding into his. His arms wrapped around my waist, and pulled me the rest of the way to him. And a few seconds later, it was a good thing he was holding on to me, because my knees were giving way, the kiss was that good.

"Stop." I pleaded, quite unconvincingly, even to myself. "I think I'm going to faint." But it was no use.

"Good." was all he said, and he was back to kissing me again. It was deep, passionate, and soul altering. My body was betraying everything I had just said to him. I started to feel the beginnings of something quite wonderful down below.

The horrible part was that I think Eric sensed it to, because he stopped kissing me then, and gave me the most wicked grin, which did other things to me that I won't mention.

"I think you feel the same as I do Sookie. Your mind may not remember it, but your body does." he practically purred to me. I was still held fast in his arms, his lips hovering above mine as he spoke. I was looking directly into his eyes, which somehow seemed bluer than they had before. And I swear that they were on fire, that I could see flames dancing in them. And he was looking just as intently back.

"You sound so sure of yourself." I said, and he released me, bending over to pick up the keys that I hadn't realized that I had dropped.

"Perhaps. But I will see you again Sookie Stackhouse." he said as he made his way to his car. Before he got in he looked back to me. "Be careful around Bill Compton. He may not be able to take you from here, but he's still your neighbor. I wouldn't put it past him to do something… unbecoming a gentleman, such as he is." And with that, Eric got in his car and drove off.

* * *

A week came and went before I realized it. I had put myself on autopilot. I went to the bar, I worked, I came home. I visited Jason a few times, and it seemed that my little disappearing act had triggered something in him that wasn't there before. We were brother and sister, and we were close, but not that close considering we lived in the same town. Now that I was back, and back to my old self, he was more caring towards me. He was a protective older brother. He came in each day at lunch to Merlotte's to eat, and always sat in my section so he could visit with me. He was constantly asking Sam how I was doing when he thought that I wasn't looking. It was becoming a bit much, but his intentions were well, and I wouldn't begrudge him the role he wanted to take. We were all we had left, aside from Hadley, but we hadn't seen her in years. I did get that phone call from her every now and then, but I spoke to acquaintances more than I spoke with her. I wasn't even sure that she and Jason spoke. It reminded me that the next time she did call, she was going to get an ear full from me about spilling my telepathic beans to Sophie-Anne.

And then there was Eric. If I didn't stay focused, I thought of him, which I didn't want. I wanted a normal life more than anything, and he was a step in the wrong direction.

"What is normal anyways." a familiar voice chimed in. I turned from my current task, which was refilling the salt shakers, to find my cousin Claudine standing behind me.

"Where the hell have you and Niall been!" was the first thing I said, and she looked absolutely offended. She never looked anything other than beautiful, and I had managed to break that for a moment. But it soon passed, and she was back to looking gorgeous again.

"We didn't find out until it was over with." she said, and hugged me. I didn't return it at first, but my arms finally wrapped around her and I returned the gesture.

"What are you doing here anyway? It hasn't been a month." I said. I only saw her and Niall on the nights where they would come to work on my scars, which was the fifteenth of each month.

"I came to check on you. I figured you needed some time to digest what had happened. Now, what was this about living a normal life?" she asked. I sometimes forgot how annoying it was to have someone be able to read my thoughts. And I reminded myself to be good and remember to use my shields more often at work.

"It was nothing. Just wishful thinking."

"You think you can have a normal life? Who's to say this life isn't normal for you anyway." she said.

"That's just it. This life is my normal. But not normal for most of the world. I just want to be Sookie Stackhouse, waitress. I don't want to be a telepath. I don't want to be a torture survivor. I don't even want to be a Fairy Princess."

"And you don't want a vampire boyfriend. Although, I don't blame you on that one." she said, and smiled at me. I didn't blame her either. Niall and Claudine had once told me about the dangers of being a Fae around vampires. They told me what had happened to their numbers thanks to vampires. "But I think you're making a bad decision." she said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"How so?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.

"He cares for you. He would be good to you. For you. And it doesn't hurt that he's absolutely gorgeous."

"He doesn't know me. The real me anyway. And I don't know him for that matter."

"Who's fault is that?" she said, quirking her eyebrow at me.

"Hallow's. For getting me into this mess in the first place." I said, turning back to my work.

"You should go see him. You miss him." she said somberly.

"It'll pass." I said.

"But do you want it to?" she asked, and when I turned to tell her to mind her own business, she was gone.

When I got home from work that night, my autopilot had switched off thanks to my conversation with Claudine. I was in Eric mode. I couldn't stop thinking about him. And I was practically bouncing off the walls when there was a knock at my door. It was a vampire. I could tell that much, because I couldn't read them.

"Hello." I said as I opened the door, expecting to see Eric. But it was someone I didn't recognize. He was a vampire, but he had dark hair, and was shorter than Eric.

"Miss Stackhouse. My name is Bill Compton." he said as I tried to rearrange my face from the disappointed look it took on when I realized that it was not Eric at my door.

"Good evening. What can I do for you?" I said.

"I hear that you have regained your memory. And I hear that you are no longer seeing Eric." he said. He was right to the point, this one.

"My memory is regained, yes. And thank you for your help regarding the whole Hallow mess. I'm still bonded to Eric, however, and I don't see how our relationship is any of your business." My grandmother would have scolded me up one side and down the other for my manners just then, regardless of how rude Bill Compton has been.

He must have seen my irritation, because he back peddled a bit. "I meant no disrespect Miss Stackhouse. I am glad that your memory has returned. I came to formally introduce myself, seeing that we are neighbors."

"Well, Mr. Compton, that was very kind of you, thank you. Now, I hate to cut this short, but I have plans this evening, and I must be going. Good night." I said, and he bowed to me as I shut the door.

I didn't really have plans tonight, but I made some that moment. I was going to go see Eric. And now I had good reason for wanting to speak with him.

* * *

"Sookie! How lovely it is to see you again!" a female vampire said as I approached the front entrance to Fangtasia. She was done up in a black corset dress and heels that any professional model would have been scared to walk in. She obviously knew me, and before I knew it, she was pulling me in the bar, bypassing the line out front. "Come, sit here. I'm sure Eric already knows you're here. He's in a meeting, he should be out in a minute." the vampire woman told me, and then went back to the door. She had sat me in a booth by myself, and my presence in it seemed to draw attention from some of the vampire and human patrons in the bar. I had my shields up, and found it easier than usual, I realized, to keep them there.

A waitress came over and asked if I wanted anything. I ordered my usual gin and tonic, but thought that I should be careful. I hadn't eaten dinner and I wasn't much of a drinker. The last thing I wanted was to be drunk while I was here. I needed to keep my head.

And then I felt Eric approaching. It was strange being able to feel him coming. He must have lowered the shield that he had kept up the last week just enough to let me know he was here.

"Sookie." he said as he sat in the seat across from me.

"Hi." I said, and he smiled a little.

"What brings you here this evening?" he asked. He was being coy. I could feel it.

"Bill Compton came to my house tonight." I said, instantly deflating his good mood.

"What did he want." Eric asked dryly. I was now regretting starting the conversation off with Bill.

"He said he came by to formerly introduce himself as my new neighbor. He also said he had heard that I got my memory back, and that I was no longer with you."

"And how did you respond?" he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"I thanked him for his visit, and told him that I was still bonded to you. That my relationship with you was none of his business."

"You didn't invite him in did you?"

"Of course not. I know better." I said, and seemed proud that although my personal experience with vampires my have been limited, I still knew the basics. They had to be invited in, a stake to the heart would finally kill them, and they didn't shake hands. That last one was random, but I remembered Hadley telling me about it, and laughing with her over it.

After that, we just sat there. We both seemed content to just be in the presence of each other. He had opened himself up a little more to me through the bond. I wasn't sure if I had effectively cut him off during the last week, but if I had, I opened myself up to him now as well. My gin and tonic came and broke the silence between us.

"Is that the only reason that you came here tonight?" he asked.

"I was thinking… maybe it wouldn't be so terrible if you came by my house some time. We could talk or something." I said, and instantly regretted the 'or something' part of my sentence.

And of course Eric picked up on it. "Or something?" he said, flashing his fangs a little and wagging his eyebrows at me. It made me laugh a little.

"I didn't mean that. I'm just saying, why don't we start by you coming over so that we can talk, maybe get to know each other."

"You mean you want to get to know me. I already know you Sookie."

"But I'm not so sure you do. I didn't even know me. There is a lot more to me than what Sam divulged to me and I shared with you."

"Well then, I look forward to learning more about you. Are you free tomorrow evening?" he asked. I could feel the hope rising in him. This seemed almost unfair. I had already been terrible to him a week ago. He had cut himself off to me, but not completely. That, or his pain from my words had been enough that even he couldn't stop some of it seeping through.

"Tomorrow's good. I'm off work at seven. Come by at eight?"

"I cannot wait." he said, and reached out for my hand.

"Great. Ah, I guess maybe I should go then. Let you get back to work."

"Of course. May I walk you to your car?" he asked as he rose from the booth. He offered me his hand again, and I took it to rise from the booth. All eyes on in the bar were on us.

"Why is everyone looking?" I whispered to him.

"Because I don't usually associate with myself with human women in this way. Especially none dressed like you." he said, and I instantly felt self conscious. It was bad enough that I never really felt pretty or sexy because of my scars, but this just seemed cruel.

"Thanks." I said a little sourly.

"Sookie, you are beautiful. What I am saying is that normally the type of women who throw themselves at me. They don't garner much attention. Just your typical fangbanger. You on the other hand…" he said and trailed off, opting to show me what he meant by capturing my lips with his own.

I had to sit in my car a few minutes before I was able to drive home after that.

* * *

The next night when I got off work, I headed straight home. I kept telling myself this wasn't a date. That Eric was just coming over to hang out with me, so that we could get to know each other, as friends. But I sure was treating it like it was a date.

I got home and grabbed a quick bite from my fridge. It was some leftover pot pie that I had made the night before after I got home from Fangtasia. As soon as I was done, I hopped in the shower and then got dressed. I put on my tightest pair of jeans. The ones that showed off my figure the best, and the bra that I had woken up in Sam's office in the week before. I was technically mine, and it did things to my chest that none of my other bras did quite the same. I put on a purple tank top that had spaghetti straps, and then the one cardigan that I owned over that which was dark grey. It was one of the first cooler nights of the fall season. And for once, it would have been perfectly logical that I would wear a sweater, but I wanted to look pretty. Even with the scars on my chest showing, I still felt good.

Just as the clock struck eight, there was a knock at the door. I had been putting on mascara, and I jumped at the sound. I finished up, checked the ponytail that I had pulled my hair back into, and then headed for the front door.

"Hi." I said as I opened it. Eric was in jeans and a plain black t-shirt. And flip flop sandals. He looked like a gothic beach bum, and I giggled a little at that thought.

"Good evening." he replied, smiling down at me.

"Please, come in." I said, and stepped back to let him enter. He took one big step to come in, and looked around. I was suddenly very self conscious about my living room. I was sure his house was probably gorgeous, and mine was, well, full of my grandmothers furniture. I didn't have the money to get new stuff, and even if I did, I was sentimentally attached to the stuff that was there. "Have a seat." I offered, and motioned to the couch. He didn't head over right away though. He stopped in front of me, and looked down at me. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. I closed my eyes as he did it, and inhaled deep. It was sweet. His lips were soft and cool against my skin, and he lingered for just a moment.

He released me then and went to have a seat on the couch. "True Blood?" I asked, but he shook his head that he didn't want anything. I was starting to get nervous now, well, more nervous than I had been, because he really hadn't spoken. I took a seat on the couch, at the opposite end of him. "So, how was the rest of your night last night?" I asked, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"Not good. But we will talk about that later."

"Okay." I said, and adjusted a little so that my legs were up on the couch and I was facing him.

"Does that work?" he said, pointing to the fireplace.

"Yep. Are you cold?" I asked, and he laughed a little.

"No, but I thought it would be nice to have a fire going." he said, and made his way over to the fireplace. There was already wood in it ready to go, so he only needed to light a match, and soon, there was a roaring fire. On his way back to the couch, he switched off the table lamps that I had on in the living room, so now we were sitting by firelight, and our non-date seemed to be quickly heading in the direction of date.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Tell me about your childhood." he said, and that threw me for a loop. I had been expecting questions about Niall, or my scars, but he seemed to really want to know about me.

So that's what we did for the next three hours. We talked about our lives. I shared a little, and then he did. I told him about growing up with my telepathy, about my parents dying when I was seven, and about growing up with Gran. I even started to feel quite comfortable around him, and when the clock showed that I was eleven, I found that somehow I had ended up next to him on the couch. He had moved so that his back was against the arm rest, and he had a leg stretched out the length of the couch. I had moved between his legs, and had my back resting against his chest. He had wrapped an arm around my waist, and had the other draped over the back of the couch.

We had hit the end of the conversation that we had been having, and now we just laid there. The arm that was draped over the back of the couch moved, and I soon found him tracing some of the scars that were visible on my chest with his finger.

"Is this bothering you?" he asked. He must have sensed how tense I had gotten over him touching my scars. No one but Niall, Claudine, and I had touched them before Eric came along.

"No, I'll get over it." I said, determined to get over my self consciousness over them tonight.

"I need to ask a favor of you." he said after another moment of silent tracing along my chest.

"Shoot." I said, and he looked down at me and I looked up at him. He quirked an eyebrow like he didn't understand what I had said. "It's just another way of saying 'go for it', like 'ask away'."

"I see. Well, I told you earlier that I did not have a good night after you left. We were having a small issue at the bar. Your… special skill, would be helpful in this situation. Would you be willing to come to the bar and read some of my human employee's?" he asked.

"What would I be looking for?"

"Someone has taken thirty thousand dollars from the bar. Pam found out last night while going over the books."

"So you have suspects then?"

"There are a few that could have done it, yes. Will you come?"

I thought for moment, not wanting to seem completely lame at not having anything else going on. "Sure, I think I can make it. What time? I'm off at seven again tomorrow night."

"Can you come by as soon as you're off work?"

"Sure. But what are you going to do when you find out who it is?" I asked, worried about the answer I was going to get, knowing the things that I did know about vampires.

"They will be taken care of." was his answer. Now, I may be harder than I was a year ago thanks to what I had gone through, but I still had a soft spot for people and supes some of the time.

"If it's a human that did this, I want your word that you will go through the proper channels when it comes to their punishment. What I mean is, you will call the police, and let this be taken care of the legal way." I said.

"But they have stolen from me, made me look like a fool."

"Well, that may be the case, but you let the law decide how they should be punished. If you can do that, I'll come. I'll help."

"You didn't care like this when it was Hallow who had attacked you."

"Well, that was different. She attacked me. She coursed me. Who knows what would have happened if you didn't find me. This is just money, Eric, it's not the same. It's replaceable. My life wasn't."

He seemed to think on that for a moment before he responded. "I will agree to your terms. You will come tomorrow night?"

"I will."

"Good." he said with a bit of finality to that conversation. "Now," he said, taking on a much softer tone, "may I ask you about how you got your scars? The things that I don't know?"

I let out a deep sigh. The only other's who knew exactly what happened to me was Niall and Claudine. "It was during the Fae war, last year. Did you hear about that?"

"I was aware they were having a civil war, yes."

"Well, before that, I had no idea that I was part Fae. I had no clue who Niall or Claudine were. I was out sunning myself one afternoon, and someone came up and knocked me out. I woke up in an abandoned house. My arms and ankles were found. There were two fairies standing over me. They had knives. They had already started cutting me a little, to wake me up. But once I was awake, that was when they really laid in." I said, very calmly and dry. There was no emotion behind my voice, and I felt Eric shut himself off to me as his arms tightened around my waist. "It was a few hours before Niall and Claudine found me. I was barely alive. I don't even really remember them coming. I thought that I was hallucinating them. I thought that I was dying. And then the fairies were both dead, and I passed out."

"How long did they have you?" he asked.

"We figured it was about six hours." I said, matter-of-factly. Eric kissed the top of my head. "Niall and Claudine took me to their realm. They made sure that I survived. Niall had a healer working on me to save me. But Niall said is magic was stronger when it came to healing the scars, so that's what he's been doing the last year."

"Did he explain to you who he was then?"

"Yep. He told me how he was related. How the bloodline had come into my family. He had gotten word that there were Fae after me and my brother, and he came to find us. Claudine got to Jason in time, but Niall was to late finding me. He wasn't able to tell where the fairies had taken me right away. They had covered their tracks pretty well."

"How long did it take you to recover?"

"Only a few days. And then he brought me back home. But I was still pretty beat up. They hadn't just cut me. They were taking skin from me. They were taking pieces of me." I said, and now was when my tears came. "It wasn't bad enough that I had this curse," I said, motioning to my head, "making it hard enough already to be able to be in a relationship, but then I had this done to me." I said, motioning over the rest of my body. Eric just squeezed a little tighter.

"It's not a curse Sookie, it's a gift, what you have. Your telepathy."

"Yeah, some gift. You know, it's pretty hard to date someone when you can hear everything they are thinking. And you can forget sex. It's hard enough to get five minutes into a date being able to hear exactly what they guy is thinking. And now, I'm covered in scars. So if the fact that I act a little funny because I can hear what everyone's thinking wasn't enough, and everyone thinks I'm crazy, now I've got another thing for everyone to talk about." I said, starting to get upset. I just couldn't see how he could think this was a gift.

"They are fools." he said through clenched teeth. "You are beautiful, Sookie. You are smart, and you are brave. You are a good person." he finished, and kissed the top of my head again. I turned to lie on my side, still leaning against him. I looked up at him. "I know you don't remember now, but someday you will. And when you will remember how we cared for each other that week. You will remember how it felt."

"You still feel the same?" I asked. "Even thought I've been terrible this last week?"

"You have your reasons, and I understand. I don't know how I would react if I was in your position." he said, and I thought he was avoiding the first question I had asked, and then he opened himself back up to me, and it was a flood of love and joy and affection. And a little lust thrown in for good measure. "I think that should answer your first question." he said and smiled at me.

I leaned up and kissed him. It was on the lips, and there was nothing really to it. Just a peck, that lingered for a moment. That was as far as I was willing to go right now. He took it for what it was, and didn't push me further.

After that, we just laid there for a while. I yawned a few times, and he offered to leave, and let me sleep, but I felt oddly comfortable there with him. What I had told him tonight was more than I had told Jason or Sam. I had been trying to avoid it for the last week, but what I was finally admitting to myself was that I was more comfortable with Eric than I had ever been with anyone. From the moment that I saw him peek over Sam's shoulder the night the curse had been broken.

But it was unnerving. I hardly knew him at all. How could I feel this comfortable around someone that I hardly knew? And how could he feel so comfortable around me? This went completely against the grain on everything I had ever heard about vampires. And how could he love me? Was this what love at first sight was?

"Do you love me?" I asked. It seemed to pull him out of whatever downtime he seemed to go in to. The answer to this question was another flow of the love and joy and affection and lust that I had felt earlier. It wasn't as strong as before, but I thought that might be because he could sense earlier how overwhelming it had been letting it hit me like it did all at once before. "That's nice and all, Eric, but I want to hear you say it. Explain it to me." I said, and shifted again to turn and face him as I lay across him. "This doesn't seem… normal Eric. Something else is going on here, and I can't explain it."

"You doubt what I feel?" he asked.

"No, not at all. But… don't you find it… this," I said, motioning between us, "strange."

He seemed to think on that for a moment, but it didn't hurt him at all, it just seemed to raise a level of curiosity in him. "Yes. We spoke of this briefly before, when you stayed with me. I don't know if what I feel for you is love, because I have not felt love in a thousand years, if at all. But if this is not love, then I think that it must be close to it. I feel connected to you, Sookie. Something draws me to you. I have never behaved such a way, and in doing so, I endanger myself. Bonding to you, for example. This went against and order from the Queen. I will be punished for it. But it doesn't matter." he said, saying that last sentence like he was just realizing it. "This could be seen as a weakness to my adversaries. It puts both of us in danger of being targets." he continued, but a mischievous grin crept on to his face then. "But they would be no match. Let them come. I will show them how weak I am."

Maybe is was the fact that I was laying on top of him almost completely at this point. Maybe he could smell my blood. But I think that a lot of it had to do with his thinking about a good fight, because at that moment, he wrapped his arms around my back a little tighter, and I could feel his manhood pressing against my thigh.

"Okay, I think it's getting a little late for me. I have to get up kind of early for work tomorrow." I said as I tried to get up, but he had me pinned to him. I wiggled a little trying to free myself, which just made him hug me closer.

"Oh, Sookie, do that again." he said, and smiled at me. His fangs were down.

"Oh you stop that!" I said, smiling back. He reluctantly let me loose, and I climbed off him and stood up. Eric followed, but neither of us moved from the front of the couch. "Well, thank you for coming over. I had a really great night. See you tomorrow?"

"Tell me how you feel. Do you love me?" he said, cupping my face in his hands.

I sighed. "I've never been in love before. If this isn't it, then it's as close to it as it can get. And it scares the hell out of me, Eric. Something isn't right here." I said, and he seemed a little offended for a moment, and then something strange happened, he seemed almost relieved.

"I know exactly how you feel. But even if there is something else going on, I know what I want." he said, and took me in his arms, and kissed me like he had the night before. But this time, I didn't fight him. I just let my body melt in to his. I was starting to think that he wrapped his arms around me to make sure I didn't fall, because lord knows each one of his kisses turned my legs to jello. "Is this what you want, Sookie?" he asked once he had managed to bring me to the edge of fainting again.

"Yes." I whispered back.


	11. Chapter 11

**First off... OH MY GOSH!**

**I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO UPLOAD SINCE SUNDAY AND THIS SITE WAS HAVING ISSUES, I KEPT GETTING AN ERROR! And I was not the only one from what I saw from some of my other fav stories.**

**But here we are... what WAS Sunday's upload.**

**Also, for chapter 10 and 11, Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot**

**And for chapter 10, no infringement meant to Gone With The Wind and it's owners... **

**(did ya'll catch the GWTW moment from chap 10?) :D**

**Anywho, Snoogans!**

* * *

"So did things go better last night?" Claudine asked from behind me. I jumped. She hadn't been there a moment before.

"Will you stop that. You're lucky I didn't have a tray full of drinks." I said, frustrated at first, but ending with a smile.

"You're avoiding the question." she smiled back.

"I'm not avoiding anything. Last night went just fine." I said, turning away so that she couldn't see my cheeks flush. I could feel the heat building behind them.

"Just fine? Is that all you're going to tell me! I need details Sookie!" she said, practically begging for a juicy tidbit that didn't exist.

"There's nothing to tell Claudine. And I don't know that I'm comfortable telling you if something did." I said, turning back to her now that I felt the burning behind my cheeks fading away. "Is that all you came here to ask me?"

"Yep." she said very matter-of-factly. "So what are you doing tonight? Girl time with me?" she asked.

That took me aback. I just stared at her for a moment, trying to process her question. Aside from the other day, I only ever saw Claudine when she was with Niall, and they were working on my scars. Although they had said that I was related to them, they didn't exactly act like family. "I have plans, actually."

"You're ditching me for a blood sucker?" Claudine said as she crossed her arms.

"If you're serious about having girl time, why don't we plan for some other night." I replied, ignoring the insult to Eric, knowing that fighting her on it would get no where.

"I'm serious. Tomorrow night then?" she asked, and I nodded. "Good. See you then!" she said, and popped to who knows where.

* * *

I got dressed to meet Eric at Fangtasia. I didn't have a lot of time, but I had been thinking about my outfit all day so that I wouldn't take me long to get ready. I decided that since I was there to do a job, I would look the part. Not for Eric, but for the employee's that I was going to be 'interviewing'. I figured that if I looked like I meant business, whoever had done it would be more likely to think about not telling me the truth. Kind of like when a criminal sees a police officer or detective, and they're being questioned. You know they're saying they're innocent, but in their heads, they're thinking about the next lie they can tell to try to prove that point. I've seen and heard it before.

I put on my grey slacks and a deep purple blouse. I put the matching blazer over that, and put on some black heals. I left my hair pulled back in it's pony tail, but fixed it up, since it was dragging a little from a long day at work.

I freshened up my face and makeup, and headed out the door. The drive to Shreveport wasn't to bad, since any rush hour traffic there might have been on the highway between Bon Temps and Shreveport was long gone.

I pulled into the parking lot just before eight, and Eric came to the back door to greet me. I had felt him the whole day, even though I knew he was sleeping. But I could feel the smallest amount of content coming through from him. When he rose, I felt love at first, and then I felt frustration. I was just going to chalk the frustration up to the situation at the bar, and not what I figured it was probably from. The closer that I had gotten to the bar that night, the stronger I felt him, and I'm sure he felt me getting closer as well.

It took all the will power that I had not to jump right out of my car and into him arms. And I could feel him struggling with the urge to run over to me. Instead, he sauntered over to my car door and opened it for me, offering me his hand to help me out.

"You look beautiful tonight." he said as he hugged me. "I want you, Lover." he whispered into my ear, and I could feel his want pressing through his jeans.

"I thought we had business tonight." I whispered back.

"I don't care about that." he said, pulling me closer to him, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck.

"Yes you do. And we can do this later. You know, the quicker we get this over with, the more time we can have together tonight." And with that, he released me, and took my hand, practically pulling me behind him into the bar. "Eric," I giggled, "slow down. I can't walk that fast."

"We need to hurry." he said as we reached the door.

I soon found myself in his office. He let me have the seat behind his desk, and then left to get someone called Pam and Long Shadow, along with Bruce, who he told me was his accountant for the bar. When the four of them came back into the office, I was suddenly very nervous. Eric felt it, and was trying to soothe me through the bond, but it was no use.

I looked at the other vampires that were in the room with us. The one that Eric called Pam I recognized from a few nights before when I had come here to see Eric. She smiled at me again now, and I returned it to her. Then she pushed the human man, Bruce, to the chair in front of Eric's desk. He was as nervous as I was. He was practically sweating.

"Sookie, this is Bruce." Pam said as she backed away.

"Hi Bruce." I said, shaky at first, but I resigned myself to toughen up at that moment. "May I take your hand?" I asked, reaching across the desk. Eric looked at me with a cocked eyebrow, and I looked up to him. "It's easier if I'm touching the person." I replied to his questioning look. Bruce reached out the rest of the way, and gave me his hand.

_Oh sweet Jesus what the hell is going on here. This is what I get for working with vampires. I swear, if I make it out of here alive I'm finding another job. I can't take this anymore. My doc says I'm going to have a stroke if I don't lower my stress level. How can I lower it when I'm treated like this. God, and how could they even think that I took it. I helped Pam find it for Christ sake. Jesus just let me see my wife and kids again._

"Bruce, did you take the money?" I asked, although I was sure I already had my answer.

"No Ma'am." he said, and he was for sure telling the truth.

"It's not him." I said as I released his hand. Bruce seemed to relax back into his chair then.

"Bring the next one in." Eric said to Pam. Pam nodded, and lead Bruce out of the office, then returned a moment later with a waitress by the name of Ginger. Pam sat her down in the seat that Bruce had previously occupied, and I reached out to take her hand, and then froze.

I had the strangest urge to get as far away from Long Shadow as I could. I didn't dare look over at Long Shadow then either, because I was sure if I did, something bad was going to happen. I wasn't sure what, or why though.

I looked over to Eric, and tried to convey something to him other than my fear, but it only seemed to puzzle him. He kept trying to soothe me. I had no rational explanation as to why I was so nervous either. I just felt like I had been here before some how, but not this exact same situation.

I decided to just get this over with so that I could tell Eric about it once it was over.

"Hi, I'm Sookie." I said to Ginger, and reached out my hand again to her.

"Hey sugar." she said, and reached her hand back across to mine, which I found odd for some reason.

"Ginger, did you take the money?" I asked, and found that her memory around the subject was a wasteland, and I wasn't able to sort through it. She wasn't either. She had a look on her face like she was drawing a blank, and that's nearly what it looked like inside her mind.

And then it hit me, and hit me hard. I didn't even have time to process what I had just seen in my head, and it wasn't even coming from Ginger, but I was one hundred percent sure of what I had just seen. I looked up to Eric and said, "It's Long Shadow.", and before I realized what a stupid move it was to say that when he was standing right next to me, Long Shadow lunged at me. He knocked the chair that I was in backwards, and we both fell to the ground with him on top of me.

I heard Ginger scream, and I thought that I had screamed, but if I had, I didn't hear it. Long Shadow's teeth bit into my arm, and then as he was about to do whatever it was he was thinking about doing, something in his eyes changed. The fire behind them started to die, and he let out a scream of his own. I just laid there, motionless and breathless as I watched his body start to disintegrate right above mine. Blood spewed from his mouth on to me, clumps of his hair started to fall out, and his skin grew a dark grey as it ashed and flaked away. His body went limp and fell further onto mine.

Then I felt him being pulled off me, and Eric was lifting me up. I just looked at him wide eyed. His fangs were out, and his blue eyes were wide and practically burning a hole into me. I looked over to Pam, who had the same shocked expression on her face that Ginger had, but she was certainly holding it together better than Ginger was. Pam had Ginger by the arm, holding her up, and Ginger was screaming. Just screaming the most shrill scream I had ever heard.

Eric's gaze finally broke from me, and he looked over at Pam. "Shut upp henne. Få henne vår härifrån. Låt inte henne komma ihågnågot av detta." he said to her, and then turned back to me. I watched Pam and Ginger leave the office, and as soon as the door was shut behind him, I looked back up to Eric. "Are you alright?" he asked me.

"Get me out of here please." I said, although it came out hardly more than a whisper. I looked down at what was left of Long Shadow and instantly regretted it. There was really just a pool of him left now. Most of it was ashing away, and what hadn't ashed yet was sure to soon.

"Here, let me fix this." Eric said as he pricked his finger on his fang, and then rubbed it over the spot where Long Shadow had sunk his fangs into my arm. It closed the wounds fairly quickly, and I felt a little better.

Without saying another word, Eric scooped me up, grabbed my purse, and we walked out of the office and then out the back door. I was about to ask him to drive my car for me, because I wasn't sure I would be able to, when we were airborne. I had my arms around his neck anyways, but the second that Eric left the ground, they wrapped around him tighter.

"What the hell are you doing!" I screamed. I buried my face into his chest. "Can't we drive?" I asked into his shirt.

Eric laughed a little. "This is faster. I won't drop you Sookie. Look around you. It's a clear night. You can see all the stars."

"I'm fine with my view of your shirt." I said, and Eric laughed again. I could feel it rumbling in his chest.

He was right, getting home via the 'Amazing Flying Eric' was faster. He landed on my porch and put me down. I took my purse and fished my keys out. We went in, and I stopped in the kitchen first, taking off my blazer, blouse, and slacks, which were now probably ruined. I looked over to Eric, who had blood on his shirt and jeans thanks to carrying me. His fangs were back out, probably from my nearly naked body. And then I realized that I had just practically undressed in front of him without even thinking about it.

"I'm sorry." I said as I looked at his clothes, deciding not to mention anything else that was going on. "Take them off, and I'll see if I can wash that out." I said, and I had barely finished the sentence and he was already half way undressed. I smiled a little at his rush to get as undressed as I was. He handed me his shirt and jeans, and was standing there in my kitchen, in nothing more than a pair of grey boxer briefs that left nothing to the imagination. He was also slightly aroused, and caught me taking a quick peek.

"Like what you see?" he said, smirking at me and wagging his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and blushed at being caught.

"Right now, I feel about as far from sexy as someone could get. I'm going to go shower." I said, and turned to leave the kitchen, then turned back to Eric. "Alone. And then you can use it if you want. If not, my brother has some old clothes here. There might be something that will fit you. They're in the spare bedroom." I said, and led the way. I pointed him in the right direction, and then headed into my bathroom.

I cleaned up as quickly as I could. At first I could feel Eric struggling with coming in to join me or not, but in the end, he decided not to. I finished up and put on my robe, and then went into my bedroom to find Eric laying on my bed. I had a towel wrapped around my hair and I used it to dry my hair as best I could, then joined Eric.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked as he pulled me to his side.

"I'm not quite sure what happened." I said

"You read Gingers mind, you found out it was Long Shadow, and he attacked you."

"But I didn't hear it from her." I said. "I didn't hear it from anyone. It was just there. I knew." I continued. I wasn't really saying it to Eric though, I was more saying aloud to myself what had happened.

"So you were not sure it was him when you said it was?"

"I was sure. As sure as I've ever been about anything. But I don't know how I knew. And it scares the hell out of me." I started to shake a little.

"Did you see it in your mind?" he asked. He had started to run his fingers through my damp hair and it was very soothing.

"Yes and no. I saw it, but it wasn't like I actually saw him doing it, or Ginger watching him do it. Or him telling her that he had. It was… it was like I was watching the circumstances play out, but the scene was different."

"How so?" Eric asked. He stopped running his fingers through my hair then, and turned on his side to face me, propping himself up on his elbow and resting his head on his hand.

"I was sitting there, reading your employee's, someone that I didn't recognize, and then we knew it was Long Shadow, and he attacked me."

"You saw that, and you still named him? What did this other employee look like?"

"She was a little older than Ginger, and she had brown hair, and she wore glasses." I said, recalling her image.

"That sounds like Belinda. She was going to come in next if we didn't get anything from Ginger." he said, and now he was a bit puzzled. "But you have never met Belinda. Not when you stayed with me, and not since then." he continued, saying that last part to himself. He looked back down at me then and kissed my forehead.

"And Bill was there." I blurted out. "And I think that I was there with him, and not there with you."

"Compton?" he asked, a little rage building, then subsiding.

"Yep. But I wasn't looking at him, I was just looking at you. For some reason, I was scared to look at him, even though I was there with him."

"What else do you remember?" he asked.

"That was it really." I said, my voice cracking a little at the end. But I held it together and didn't cry. "It was like I was having a vision I think."

"If it was a vision, it would have been of the actual events taking place. This, I am not sure what it is. When will you see Niall again?"

"In a few weeks."

"Tell him of this. See what he says." Eric said and I agreed.

I decided to change the subject. "Don't you have to get back to the bar?"

"We got a temporary bartender for the night so that Long Shadow could be present for the meeting since he was our partner. Pam is capable of taking care of things in my absence."

"You've been absent a lot lately. She won't be upset?"

Eric laughed a little. "Even if she is, I don't care."

* * *

We laid there for a bit after that. I ended up falling asleep at some point.

I started having one of my usual nightmares. The one where I was sunbathing, and the two fairies who kidnapped me come and take me away, and torture me slowly. Just like they had done in real life. Only this time, in my nightmare, I started to call for Eric.

I woke up to Eric leaning over me, brushing my hair from my face, planting small kisses on my lips. I took a quick gasp when I awoke, and I clung to him, wrapping both arms around his neck and pulling him to me. A few tears were making their way down my cheeks, but I was usually crying when I woke up from that nightmare.

"Sookie, shhh, I have you." he whispered into my ear.

"I called for you. In my nightmare. I've never done that before."

"You did once, while you were staying with me."

"I wanted you to come save me."

"I wish that I could have." he said into my neck. I could feel his sorrow and hurt and having to watch me relive the attack and not being able to do anything about it. I released the grip that I had on him and he leaned back. And there was a small red streak that was running down his face. I reached out and touched it, and realized that it was a tear. I kissed him then, long and hard. It took him by surprise at first, but he responded just as eagerly.

The lust and passion was rising in both of us quite steadily, and I pushed him over onto his back with no resistance and straddled him, never breaking our kiss. I was leaning over him, and I started to move my hips over him.

Eric broke our kiss. "Lover, are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes." I said and leaned back down to kiss him, but quicker than I could register, he flipped us again so that I was on my back, and he was on top of me. I giggled a little before his lips captured mine again. His body was hovering over mine, and I opened my legs to that he could fit between them. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his heck. I then realized that I was wearing nothing but my robe, and I felt his penis pressing against my center through his boxers. It was just a little pressure, and in just the right spot, and it felt amazing. I moaned a little into his mouth and gripped his neck a little tighter as I moved my hips up a little.

He broke our kiss then, and removed his boxers, and untied my robe. I took my arms out of it, and he pulled it out from under me, tossing it across the room before leaning back down and kissing me again, starting first at my lips, and then moving down my jaw, and to my neck. My hands moved over his chest and around to his back, trying to pull him back up to me as he worked his way from my neck down to my chest, but it was no use. He seemed to be on a mission and there was no stopping him.

He stopped at my breasts, paying equal attention to both with his mouth. He licked and sucked and kissed both equally while he moved a hand down my side, and then across my hip and to my most sensitive spot. He rubbed his finger over my nub and I about shot off the bed. My hips bucked and I gasped. I grabbed his hair in my hands and tried to pull him back to me but he just looked up and smiled at me as he continued to drive me to the edge with just his finger.

"Eric, please." I pleaded with him. I needed him right now. He responded to my plea by slipping a finger into me. He put his lips back down to my body, but this time, he moved down lower, and slowly made his way down my stomach until he got to just above where I wanted him most. I was writhing beneath him, and as he brought his mouth to my nub, he added a second finger. He moved slowly at first, and could feel my orgasm quickly building. I was sure that he could feel it to, and he moved his tongue from it's current task, and started to kiss my inner thigh.

"Lover, look at me." he said, and my eyes opened and met his. He kissed my thigh a few more times and then he bit and I saw gold and silver and stars and fireworks. I think I may have even screamed, but I couldn't be sure.

When I finally opened my eyes, Eric was back on top of me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he positioned himself at my entrance. He kissed me again, "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes. Please Eric." I said, and he pushed into me slowly. I arched my back and closed me eyes. "Keep your eyes open Lover, look at me." he said, stopping his movements. My eyes shot open and met his. They seemed a darker blue now, like the ocean. He continued then to move in to me, still slowly. He leaned down to kiss me again, and I pulled on his shoulders, trying to get him to move more in me. He could tell that I wanted him more, and he moved slower at first. "Eric, please." I gasped. "More." I said, and he pushed the rest of the way in, and I almost had another moment, but he stopped again and waited for me to come back down a little. Then he started his movements again, slowly at first, but he picked up a steady pace, and I moved with him, meeting him with my hips each time.

There was a mix of love and lust and passion moving between our bond, and I felt like it was heightening everything we did. It didn't take long for either of us to be on the edge of completion, and Eric gave a few final thrusts and I found myself floating again. That seemed to be enough for him, and I heard him practically roar before sinking his fangs into my neck, which sent another wave through me. It was like I could feel his orgasm which meant that he could probably feel mine.

Eric collapsed on top of me, but held himself with an elbow so that he wasn't completely crushing me. I felt safe there under him, and I wrapped my arms around his back while I tried to catch my breath.

"Was it always like that before?" I asked as he moved to my side and pulled me to him.

"Oh yes." he said, smirking a little.

"Even the first time?"

"Sookie," he started, and looked down to me, pulling my face up by the chin so that our eyes met, "it was like that every time. Even your first." he said, and smiled, then kissed me gently on the lips.

"I wish I could remember it." I said, a little lament in my voice.

"I can show you how it was." he said, wagging his eyebrows at me.

"Maybe it will jog my memory." I said smiling back at him.

"Well we won't know unless we try." he said, leaning back on top of me. We spent the next hour trying to jog my memory. And even though it didn't help me remember, I didn't mind.

* * *

"You know, the more that I think about it, the more that it seems like my vision was more of a memory."

"A memory?" Eric asked lazily. He was on his back, and I was at his side, tracing small circles on his chest.

"Yeah. It felt like… if I was looking back at something that had happened to me before."

"But before I found you on the road, we had never met. I had never had thirty thousand dollars taken from me." Eric said more alert. I seemed to have grabbed his attention. "How could it be a memory?"

"I don't know. It's obviously not, because we both would have known. But that's just how it felt."

We had a little more down time after that, and then I checked the clock. "When do you have to leave?" I asked, and then yawned.

"I can stay until thirty minutes to dawn. You should sleep now Sookie. Do you work tomorrow?"

"Nope, it's my day off." I replied, and yawned again.

"Can I see you again tomorrow night?" he asked.

"I have plans with Claudine, but I don't see why not later that night. What time will you be done at Fangtasia?"

"Just come when you are free. I will wait for you at the bar."

"Oh no, my car!" I said, sitting up in bed, realizing that it was left at Fangtasia. I had been so distracted, I had completely forgotten about it.

"I had Pam bring it back while you were sleeping earlier." he said, and I lowered back down to his side.

"If I sleep, you'll stay with me until you have to leave?"

"There is no where else I would rather be."


	12. Chapter 12

**Well, here goes round two of trying to get this saved so that I can post it.**

**Since I wasn't able to get the upload done on Sunday, I just kept writing, and poof, a Wednesday update!**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**This chapter will switch between Sookie and Eric's POV**

**THANK YOU ALL for the awesome reviews. I'm SO SO SO happy that everyone is enjoying it, and has a theory... but no one's got it right yet that's written anything in the comments. :D**

**Anywho, Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**

* * *

**Sookie's POV**

I thought all day after I woke up about what I had seen the night before. My vision, or memory, whatever it was. The more that I thought about it, the more real it had seemed. And it was strange that the last part of it, the part about Long Shadow attacking me had happened. The circumstances leading up to it from reality from my vision were different, but the end result was the same. I looked down at the spot on my arm that Long Shadow had bitten. It was completely healed thanks to Eric. If I concentrated, I could feel the slight buzzing in my mind that was him. He was sleeping, but I could feel his contentment, which rubbed off on me a little.

Just then the microwave dinged and I went to the oven to retrieve my dinner which consisted of a Marie Calendars chicken pot pie. I was starving, and it was a little chilly outside, so I was looking forward to the hot meal. I only got to enjoy half of it before I had my wits scared out of me.

"Sookie!" Claudine exclaimed as she popped into the chair across from me. I practically threw my fork.

"For goodness sakes Claudine!" I said as I caught my breath.

"I'm sorry cousin, I didn't mean to scare you. So… ready for our girls night?" she asked, flashing me her pearly white, perfectly straight teeth.

"As I'll ever be." I said, taking one last bite of my dinner. "So, what did you want to do?"

"Mani-Pedi?"

It was the strangest thing, sitting in the middle of my living room floor with a cousin I hardly knew, who also happened to be a fairy, giving each other manicures and pedicures. But then, this last year, there had been a lot of strange in my life, and this was probably the least strange thing to have happened. Claudine and I had already done each others fingernails, and she was working on my toes. Claudine had spent most of the evening doing the talking, but I didn't mind. She actually started to share with me, particularly about her side of our family. She told me about another cousin Claude, who was her twin brother. They had been triplets, but their sister, Claudette, had been killed.

"So why didn't I ever hear from you or Niall before last year if we're family and all?" I asked. It was a question that I had been wondering since the moment that I had woken up from my attack and they had explained to me who they were. But I wasn't about to question them like that when they were doing so much to keep me alive. I was just going to be grateful that I wasn't dead.

"We would have eventually."

"Since I'm mostly human, do I really matter that much to Niall?"

"Oh Sookie, really! Of course you do!" Claudine said, stopping what she was doing to look up at me from my toes. "You have a very important bloodline in you. Even if you're only one-eighth Fae, that's still one-eighth more than the rest of these silly humans. And you're one-eighth Brigant. So that's even more important."

"Why are you coming around me so much all of the sudden?" I asked.

"You're family, Sookie. I can't spend time with my cousin?"

"You can, and believe me, I don't mind one bit. It's just that, well, normally when you come with Niall, neither of you really talk to me. In fact, I think you've said more to me this past week than you've said in the past year combined."

Claudine put the brush back in the bottle of polish and put it down next to her, then got a very serious look on her face. "Sookie, Niall sent me here to watch over you." she said, and I sighed deep, "Now, don't get all huffy with me missy. I do want to spend time with you. But if what you're wondering is if there is an ulterior motive behind me coming, you're right, there is."

"To watch over me? From what?"

"Don't think Niall doesn't know what you've been up to these last three weeks Sookie. First the curse that Hallow put on you, and then your relationship with the vampire. And I understand that the Queen of Louisiana is interested in you as well."

"Well, she can't get me."

"Oh, we know. And we know why she can't either. I really don't know what you were thinking bonding yourself to that vampire."

"I don't know what I was thinking, but oh, wait, that's right, I had amnesia! And no one came to my rescue but Eric."

"I would hardly call picking you up off the side of the road a rescue."

"No, but everything he did after that was."

"Perhaps. Which reminds me, if you want the bond undone, Niall can do it. And he will if you ask him."

"And if I don't?"

"Your choice I guess. But just know, that if you change your mind, you only have to ask Niall."

"Well, tell him thanks, but no thanks."

"I don't get it Sookie. You realize that you've bonded yourself, for life, to a vampire that you've only known three weeks. And one of those weeks you can't even remember."

"But that's just it Claudine, I feel like I've known him a lot longer than that." I said, thinking again about Eric. His buzz was a lot stronger now. He was awake, and he was a little agitated. But I realized that it was my agitation with Claudine that was transferring to him. I tried to calm myself down, and hopefully calm him down as well. "Which reminds me, I wanted to ask you about something."

Claudine rolled her eyes, and went back to painting my toenails. "Yes?"

"I had a vision last night."

"I didn't hear a question in there." she said, not looking up from her task.

"Is that a side effect of being part Fae?"

"Side effect? No, Sookie. I don't think that you having a vision is because you're part Fae. What kind of a vision was it?"

"It was strange. I was helping out Eric last night, and I was interviewing some of his employee's, and I had this, memory, or vision, of his bar tender attacking me. It was nearly the same situation that I was actually in, but different."

"How?"

"Well, in my vision, I wasn't there with Eric, I was there with my new neighbor, Bill Compton. And I had interviewed an employee that I didn't even meet last night, but I knew her somehow."

"And what happened when you had this vision?" she asked, looking up from my feet.

"Nothing really. But it felt so real. I've never had anything like that happen to me before."

"Maybe you were just hallucinating."

"Claudine. Seriously." I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Hey, I don't know. This is news to me Sookie. I don't know of anyone on my side of the family who's had visions before. I don't think it's from your Fae heritage. But you can ask Niall next time he's here."

"I was planning on it."

* * *

After we finished the mani-pedi's, we watched a movie, per Claudine's request, and then just after midnight, she popped away. I took a quick shower, put on jeans and a dark blue sweater, and headed out to Fangtasia. Eric had mentioned the night before that before I came over to make sure that I showered, because it would be very very bad if I showed up to the bar smelling like Fae.

Just like I we had the night before, I could sense him better the closer that I got to Fangtasia, and he could sense me coming. He met me at the back entrance, and was at my side before I even had my car door shut.

"You can't go in there smelling like that." he practically growled into my neck as he lifted me. I giggled, wrapping my legs around his waist as he pushed me back against my car.

"But I showered like you said." I laughed. He was nuzzling my neck and it was tickling me a little, and sending a shiver through my body to all the right places.

"You smell delicious." he said, and licked my neck.

"Eric! Not here." I squealed as he moved his pelvis in to mine at just the right angle. I heard his fangs extend, and he nibbled at my neck just a little. "Seriously." I said, but he kept at it. Moving suggestively against me, kissing and nipping my neck.

Instead of putting me down, he carried me inside the bar through the back door and into his office, sitting me on the edge of his desk.

"I want you Lover."

"Well, you can have me, but not here. Someone will hear. What if Pam comes in?" I said, blushing a little. Eric laughed, but eventually let me go after a little more kissing and nipping.

"What happened to your impeccable self control?" I asked when he had finally let me lose.

"When you smell like that Sookie, I just want to fuck you and bite you…" he had started to say, but I finished it.

"And rub yourself all over me…" I said, but I said it slowly and my eyes went wide and shot up to his. "Did you say that to me when I was cursed?"

"No…" he said, and looked at me puzzled. I could feel the confusion coming from him. Or maybe it was coming from me and bouncing back off him. I started to feel a little dizzy, and Eric stepped back to my side and held me upright. "Sookie, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. Deja-vu maybe? I just had the strangest feeling that you've said that to me before."

"Perhaps it's because you want me to fuck you and bite you and rub myself all over you?" he said, flashing me a fangy grin, raising an eyebrow at me. But it was no use. He couldn't mask his worry because of the bond.

"Very funny." I said, half smiling back. I shook my head and then slid down off the edge of his desk and then taking a seat on the couch.

Eric turned his back to his desk, and leaned his perfect butt against it. "Perhaps this deja-vu was another vision?"

"I don't know. I asked Claudine about that by the way."

"And what did she have to say?"

"That she didn't think it was because I was part Fae. She didn't know what would cause it. She said to ask Niall next time he comes."

"How long until then?"

"Well, he comes on the fifteenth of each month. So another week."

"So in a week, we will know more then."

"But what if he doesn't know what's happening to me?"

"Then we will figure it out." he said, coming to my side then and taking my hand. "Come, let's go home."

* * *

Eric pulled his corvette into his garage and turned off the engine as the door shut behind us. "So this is where I lived for a week?"

"No, I let you stay in the house." he said, trying to hide his smile.

"Oh, how kind of you!" I said, unable to hide mine. He took my hand and kissed it before we got out of the car. He opened the door for me that let into the house. It led to the kitchen, which broke off into a dining room. He showed me to the living room, and started up the fireplace. "Aren't you going to show me the rest of the house?" I said and he pulled me down to the floor in front of the fire.

"The rest of the house can wait. I can't." he said as he pulled me under him.

* * *

"Where's the bathroom?" I asked when I woke up from the little snooze I had taken in his arms in front of the fireplace.

"Down the hall, to the left." he said as he kissed my forehead lazily. I started to get up and he pulled me back down to him, kissing me passionately. "Don't be long." he said and he let me free.

I walked down the hall to the bathroom and found it easily. I did my business and washed up a little before heading back to Eric. As I left the bathroom, I saw a room to my left and stopped dead in my tracks. It was like the room was calling to me. I looked back down the hall to Eric, who seemed to still be waiting for me in front of the fireplace. I peeked in the door to the room, but it was pitch black in there. I opened the door a little wider and took a step inside.

"What are you doing?" Eric asked, wrapping his arms around my waist. I practically jumped out of my skin.

"Gosh darn it, Eric! I swear, you and Claudine are going to give me a heart attack some day if you both keep doing that to me!"

Eric just laughed from deep in his gut, and I could feel his chest rumbling as he pulled me to him. "You found my room."

"I didn't mean to go snooping."

"It's rude to snoop you know. Perhaps I should punish you for this, teach you not to snoop anymore." he said as he started to plant small kisses on my neck, working his way down to my shoulder.

I turned in his arms and started to kiss his chest, in the middle at first, and then worked my way over to his right nipple. Eric started to walk us back towards his bed, and I started to lick and suck a little on his nipple. He let out a deep moan, "Bite a little." he whispered, and my head shot up to his as the backs of my knees reached the bed and we fell backwards.

And that's when it hit me. All my memories came flooding back, and everything went black.

* * *

"Sookie! Sookie, wake up." I heard Eric say. I could feel and hear the worry in his voice. My eyes fluttered for a moment and then shot wide open to meet his. We appeared to be further back on the bed now, and Eric was hovering over me.

"Eric, I remember." I told him, and his eyes went wide.

"Are you alright?" he asked, caressing the side of my face.

"I don't know." I said, looking down and checking myself out. I was trying to process everything that I had just seen. Everything that had just come in to my head, the flood of memories and information.

"Sookie, what do you remember?" he asked, still hovering over me. There was a flood of worry and relief coming from him now.

"I remember our week together. And I remember more. A lot more, Eric."

"A lot more?"

"I need to talk to Niall." I said, and sat up. Eric moved to the side so that I could rise. "Something isn't right."

"Sookie, tell me what's going on." he said, and this time he sounded frustrated.

"Eric, I remember us. But not 'this' us." I said motioning between us. "A different you and me. A different time or something. I don't know how to explain it. It's like a completely different history." I said, but it was more to myself than to answer him. Like I was slowly realizing what was happening. "I'm not making any sense…"

"No… but it's intriguing."

"It's weird is what it is Eric." I said, but my mind was wandering through all the information that was flooding me. I completely blanked him out, and was sucked in to a sea of memories from another time, or place, where him and I were different than we were now. Where my life had played out completely different. Where our lives together had played out completely different. "Is that why I'm so comfortable around you?" I asked, not realizing it was aloud.

"What are you seeing?" he asked. He was sitting in front of me now, and he took my hands in his.

I was going through the information that was flooding my mind, trying to separate events into the proper order. The things that I was remembering seemed more real in a way than the life that I was in. I was seeing a completely different history to my life, and there was a pivotal turning point in both, but that timeline went one way, and the one I was in now went another. The only way that I could think in my mind to describe it, keep them separate was to think of them as timelines, but I knew that wasn't what it was.

"Eric, what's the first memory that you have, where you know for sure that it was real?"

"I can remember being a child, before I was turned." he said, raising and eyebrow. I started to waive my hands in front of my face as if to clear what he had said away.

"No, that's not what I mean. Eric, right now, the only thing that I'm sure of is that I was running down the road in the middle of the night three weeks ago, and you picked me up. Before that, I can remember things about my life, but I don't think they're real. I don't feel like they happened, if that makes any sense."

Eric looked utterly confused. Which I think, in both timelines, was the first time that I had managed to get that look on his face. "Dear one, perhaps we should try to get Niall, or at least Claudine…" he said and started to get out of bed.

"No. Not yet. I need you to remember Eric." I said, taking one of my hands from his and placing it on his cheek. "This isn't our time. I need you to think. Really think, Eric. What is the first real, tangible memory that you have."

Eric sighed. He didn't breath, so it was weird any time that he did that. He had never pretended to breathe for me before, and I saw him sigh only a hand full of times before. "I'm calling Ludwig." he said, pulling my hand from him.

"But I'm fine! Eric, please, you have to remember!" I said, and tackled him so that he fell backwards on the bed with me on top of him. "Please, Eric." I said, and kissed him. "Please, you need to think. You have to remember." I whispered to him.

"Tell me what you remember." he finally said after staring at me for what seemed like an eternity.

"There's still some pieces missing, but I remember most of it." I said, and lifted off him. I sat back in the bed, getting under the covers because I was starting to get chilly now that we weren't in front of the fire anymore. I patted the bed next to me to signal Eric to join me, and he did. "Everything I remember now is the same from then, until the day that I was kidnapped by the fairies in my front yard. In the other time, instead of being kidnapped, I went to work that night, and I met my first vampire. Bill Compton."

* * *

**Eric's POV**

Sookie spent the next hour explaining to me the events that had unfolded in her mind. I sat wordlessly the entire time. There was so much to take in. When she was done, I took her hand in mine and kissed it.

"Well?" she asked. I didn't know how to respond. "Say something." she pleaded.

"I don't know what so say my love."

"Does any of it ring any bells?" she asked, and I had to think for a moment about the phrase that she had used.

"No, nothing." I said almost in a whisper. "What do you think this is?" I asked.

"Do you mean 'this' as in my memories? Or 'this' as in our life now?"

"Both." I said, now wondering what her take on both situations was.

"Well, I think that what I saw really happened. I think this is some sort of alternate timeline. And I think that Niall had something to do with it."

"But he has said nothing of it to you when you see him?" I asked. I looked at her for the first time since she had started to tell me about what she remembered. She had the most serious look on her face. I could feel her determination, but in what, I wasn't sure. Perhaps in my remembering?

"No," she sighed, "which makes me think that he doesn't want me, or us, to remember it. Maybe we weren't meant to. Or I wasn't…" she said, trailing off.

"You think that it is just you in this, what did you call it? Alternate timeline?" I asked, looking her in the eyes. She seemed to be contemplating.

"I just don't know. But I'm going to find out." she said, and I could feel that her mind was set. "And I'm going to find out why. Because I can remember up to about a month after your maker dying, but I don't remember after that." And with that, Sookie moved on top of me, straddling my waist. She brought her hands to my face and kissed me gently on the lips. "There can't be any other explanation except for Niall. I wish you could remember. I hope you can. I hope that this isn't just me stuck in this alternate timeline, and you're worrying about me back home. Doing something to get yourself in to trouble with Victor."

"Who's Victor?" I asked.

"He's the one in charge of Louisiana and Arkansas while Felipe runs Nevada. Although, Felipe is still technically king. Victor's caused us a lot of trouble, and if you from the alternate timeline is still there, and not here with me now, then I can just imagine what's going on." she said, and half smiled.

I had a thought then, "So then are you cheating on me? With me?" I said, half smiling back at her.

"Would you consider it cheating if I was there, and sleeping with the you that's there?" she questioned back.

I thought about that for a moment before responding. "No."

"You're just saying that because you want sex." she joked, smacking me lightly on the chest.

"How am I supposed to answer with you sitting on me like this?" I said, bucking my hips a little, but it didn't seem to phase her much, she was still stuck on the other event happening tonight.

"Now, I just need to figure out what was going on when I, or we, left the other time line, and how we ended up here. I don't know if whatever brought us here is at the point that I can remember up to, or much after that. Maybe this is all that my mind could take for one night. Maybe the rest will come back to me later…" she said, trailing off again. I could feel the concentration radiating from her.

"Do you think that it could be Victor doing this?" I asked

She sighed and thought about that for a moment. "No. And you know what, I'm sure now that we came here together." she said, tapping her finger on her chin.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because you felt it, when you pulled over to the side of the road. We were drawn to each other, Eric. You said it was out of character for you to have picked me up like that. A complete stranger. You even took me back here. Which took you a lot longer to do back home in our real timeline." She laughed a little when she said that.

If I hadn't been bonded to her I would have said that she had gone completely mad. But regardless of how unrealistic it all sounded, I believed her. "Perhaps." was all that I could think to say. In reality, the thought of me being stuck in this timeline and not remembering was infuriating. Someone, possibly Niall, was fucking up my life, and taking away my control, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Why are you so mad all of the sudden?" Sookie asked, leaning down and kissing my chest.

"If you're right, then what could have happened back there that we both were removed from that timeline?" I said, avoiding her question in an attempt to reign in my anger.

"I guess we'll just have to find out."

* * *

**Sookie's POV**

I woke up about an hour before dawn. After the revelation earlier, I was exhausted. Not exhausted enough to forego amazing sex with Eric, but my brain was mush. Eric could tell I was awake now, and he started to rub small circles over my stomach. "I wish you could remember how much I hate it when you do that. It makes me feel fat." I laughed.

"Did you have these scars in your other timeline?" he asked as he stopped rubbing my stomach and moved to tracing the lines the ran all across my body.

"Not this many." I sighed. "And it took time to get over being self conscious about them. It sucks having even more, but I'm okay with it. Battle scars." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Why do you think you have more here than there?"

"I don't know. But when we get back to our real time, I'm doing whatever I can to get in contact with Niall. Your blood did lots to help me babe," I said, placing my hand on his cheek, "but if Niall can get rid of them like he can here, then I want him to try."

"You haven't seen Niall in that reality?"

"Not for a while. After the war, he closed himself off in Fae land or whatever he called it, along with pretty much every other Fae. Claude and Dermot stuck around…" I said and then it hit me. "Claudine! Oh my gosh! She's alive here!" I said, and I felt the tears streaming down my face almost instantly. Her and I had a different relationship back home. We weren't exactly best friends forever, but I knew that I loved her, and I missed her now that she had been gone from my life. Eric pulled me to his chest in an effort to comfort me, and pretty soon I calmed myself down.

"Are you going to try to contact Claudine or Niall today?" he asked as he smoothed his hand over my hair.

"Yeah. What else can I do." I sighed.

"You can lay here with me all day. I like waking up in bed with you." he whispered to me, leaning down and kissing my forehead.

"But that won't get us home. Don't you want to go back? Don't you want to know why we're here?" I asked, angling my face up to his.

"As long as you're here before sunset, I don't mind if you leave me all alone for the day." he said, and honest to goodness, he pouted. But he wasn't fooling me. I saw him fighting back a smile.

"I promise to be back before sunset, and I also promise to wake you up your favorite way." I said and winked at him.

"My favorite way?" he asked, raising a blonde eyebrow. "And how is that Lover?" he said, pulling me under him, kissing my neck, working his way down.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and find out." I said, and laughed as he pinched my side.


	13. Chapter 13

**Happy Sunday!**

**Nothing to report really other than you guys ROCK! Loving all the love, and happy that everyone is enjoying so far!**

**I had a hard time writing this chapter. Was having a little blockage in the writing department, but I got past it eventually.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**

* * *

I waited until I was sure Eric was asleep and then I got up and got ready to leave as quickly as I could. He had made sure that Pam had brought my car by his house, since I had left it at the bar. I had a mission today, and I only had a certain amount of time to do it in, because I promise, and wanted, to be back in bed with Eric when he woke up.

He had tried to persuade me to sleep a little since I hadn't really gotten much that night, but I couldn't have slept if I had tried. I wasn't even tired. I was excited to finally remember. Relieved that I knew the truth, or at least most of it. All I could think about was finding Niall, or at least Claudine.

"I don't even know how!" I yelled to myself while I drove back to Bon Temps. I wanted to get some things from my house so that I could stay with Eric. We needed to be together as much as possible. I needed to find some way for him to remember. And if we were going to be stuck here, we were going to be together while we were.

And I didn't trust Bill either. The Bill here wasn't one who was in love with me yet. I did believe that he had fallen in love with me back in my real time line, but it hadn't been right away. And this Bill was only after one thing, getting me to the Queen. Not that he really could since I was bonded to Eric, but I wouldn't put it past him to find some way to complete his mission, given that I was still just some random lowly human to him in this timeline.

And then it hit me. Claudine had said that she was watching over me now on orders from Niall. In my previous timeline, she had called herself my 'fairy godmother', and she had shown up on more than one occasion when I was in danger. So that's just what I did. I put myself in danger. It went against the grain, because I was usually trying (although mostly unsuccessfully) to keep myself out of danger.

I started to think about ways to swerve off the highway, doing as little damage to my car, and myself, but still draw Claudine in to 'save the day'.

"Don't you dare!" she said as she popped into the front seat next to me.

"Good. Just who I wanted to see." I grinned at her and pulled over to the side of the road. "I need to see Niall."

"He'll be by on the fifteenth…" she started to say.

"No, I need to see him. Now. It's important. It could be life or death."

"Sookie, you can't just demand to see him."

"Well that's what I'm doing." I turned to face Claudine. "Look, it really is important. Can you please just pass this message on to him? I'm heading home right now. I'll be there until about two hours until sunset."

Claudine huffed and puffed a little before she finally agreed to let him know. "I can't promise he'll come, but I'll tell him." she finally sighed. I could tell she was about to pop out of my car, so I took my chance and lunged at her, wrapping my arms around her as best I could in the car and I hugged her with everything that I had, and did my best not to cry. She stayed frozen for a moment and then hugged me back just as hearty as I was hugging her.

"What was that for?" she asked when I finally let her lose.

"I can't hug my favorite cousin?" I said.

"Oh Sookie." she laughed as she popped away. I smiled at myself for getting the chance to hug her at least this once before I started the car and continued my drive back to Bon Temps.

Once I got home I set out to pack a bag to stay at Eric's. I went to my closet and pushed back the clothes that the me here had been wearing for the last year. I wasn't as self conscious about my scars, and I was going to be comfortable in my skin, and I wasn't going to cover myself up with frumpy clothes.

After I packed a small bag, I headed to the kitchen. I wasn't tired, but I was hungry. On my way there, I passed my answering machine and saw the light flashing. I stopped and hit the play button. The message was from Sam, asking if I could come in to work earlier tomorrow. Crap!

"Merlotte's. Sam speaking."

"Sam! It's Sookie. Hey, I hate to ask, I really do, but I've got a little issue right now, and I was wondering if I could have the next couple of days off?" I said, and bit my lip, hoping that he wouldn't give me to much trouble before he agreed to give me the time off. I hardly ever asked for time off, and Sam knows it. Sometimes he gave me a little hassle, but he never turned me down.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "Is it Eric? He causing you trouble?"

"No, Eric isn't causing me any trouble. I just need some personal time. I can explain it later, and I will, I promise. But would that be alright?"

I heard Sam exhale a deep breath. "Fine. How long do you need?"

"Five days, tops."

"See you in five days." he said, and hung up the phone.

I hung up and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. I made myself a sandwich and sat at my table to eat in peace and think about everything that had happened last night. What I knew was I wasn't from here, and neither was Eric. He just didn't remember yet.

I thought about the things that were different here. I was sure that I had arrived here the night that Eric found me wandering down the road. Before that, the 'me' that was here, the life that was laid out for me had taken a completely different turn.

I didn't meet Bill that night at the bar. Instead I was kidnapped by Lochlan and Neave, and they had done more of a number on me than they had before. Niall had come in to my life then, along with Claudine.

Claudine popped in to the chair across from me. "He wont come."

"Why not?"

"Says he'll come on the fifteenth like he normally does."

I rolled my eyes. "If he comes at all." I mumbled to myself.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that I figured out what's going on here. I just want to know why, and I want to go back home. Me and Eric."

"Sookie, you are home…"

"No, I'm not. And Niall knows it. If you see him, you tell him I know. I know what happened."

"You're making less and less sense Sookie. What happened between last night and now?"

I spent the next hour explaining everything that had happened and telling her about the timeline that I was from.

"So I've passed on there?" Claudine said, then paused, "Is that why you hugged me in the car?" The corners of her mouth curving slightly upward.

"I've missed you." I said, reaching across the table and taking her hand.

"I should go." Claudine said, and rose. "I'll help you with Niall if I can." She kissed my forehead, and then popped away.

My plans for talking to Niall had seemed to been ruined, so I did the only thing that I wanted to do, I grabbed the bag that I had packed and drove back to Eric's house. I hadn't realized how tired I really was until I pulled in to his driveway. I parked and made my way into his house, and crept into his light tight room. I changed out of my clothes, and put on one of Eric's button up shirts before I climbed in to bed with him.

* * *

I woke up to him stirring. He wasn't actually moving, and he wasn't really awake yet, but he was mentally waking up. I could feel our bond start to tingle. I pulled back the bed sheets and climbed on top of him, stretching out over his body. I sat up and undid the top couple of buttons so that the shirt opened just enough to be scandalous, but still kept me covered, then leaned back over him and started to kiss his lips first, then moved to his neck and shoulder, then back up to his ear. When I got there, I felt his arms tighten around me.

"I think this is my favorite way to wake up Lover." he whispered into my ear, sending a chill through my entire body.

"I didn't even get to the best part yet. You woke up sooner than I thought you would." I whispered back, then started my kisses again. I felt a rush of air, and before I knew it, I was on my back and Eric was hovering over me.

"You were around a fairy today Lover." he said, and I could see the glazed over look in his eye starting to creep in. "You should have showered before you joined me."

"Maybe I didn't shower on purpose." I said and winked at him. He growled deep in his chest before he devoured me.

* * *

"We never did get a honeymoon you know. We weren't even dating when you pledged to me. After that, with everything going on with the takeover and then my kidnapping, and Ocella showing up… we just didn't have the time that we should have."

"But you stayed with me." he said, more of a statement than a question.

"Because I love you." I said, turning on my side to face him. "After Ocella died, everything that was happening with Victor and with Freyda… we've had a tough time Eric. But no matter what happened, or was going to happen, I stuck by you, and I at least heard you out."

"You remember more?"

"A little. But it's not important. What is important is that I saw Claudine today, and she told Niall I wanted to speak with him, but he wouldn't come."

"And you think this is because he is behind it?"

"That's exactly what I think. But it's not like if I saw him I could do anything about it other than try to get answers from him. If he's got us stuck here, there isn't anything we can do about it. I just wish that we had some answers."

We were silent for a little after that before Eric spoke again. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something, but had realized I wasn't going to. "What else did you remember? Were we involved with the Queen of Oklahoma in some way?"

"It's nothing important. And it doesn't make a difference here anyway." I told him.

* * *

We spent the next four nights in bed. We didn't leave and I was fine with that. It had been exactly what I had wanted to do when Eric had had amnesia, and it was what I had wanted to do after my kidnapping and the Fae war.

But because we had to find Hallow, and because of the takeover, we never had that time that we had needed. Right now, Sophie-Anne was in charge, and she didn't seem to care if Eric was at Fangtasia or not. As long as his work was done, and he brought in money. I remembered how much I really missed her back home. Even if she was trying to get her hands on me here, it was better than worrying about mine and Eric's life each day from Victor.

_Eric,_

_I'll be off work at two. See you then._

_Love,_

_Sookie_

I left the note next to his cell phone on the nightstand as I made my way out. I sighed as I drove back to Bon Temps. I had thought over those four days about quitting my job, but in the end, if I was going to be stuck here, for who knows how long, I couldn't just mope around all day and have fabulous sex all night. Even thought that was tempting, it just wasn't me, in any reality.

* * *

"Well look who's back." Arlene said as I walked out of Sam's office, having deposited my purse. I was startled for a moment at seeing her now. It was the first time since I had regained my memory. This was the Arlene I had been friends with before she participated in nearly killing me.

"Hey Arlene." I said. It was the only thing I could think to say. I smiled briefly at her, and then headed out to the floor. It wasn't to busy of a night, and Arlene passed off her tables to me with a little small talk about her kids. She hinted at me that she needed a sitter the next night, but I told her I was working.

Time seemed to stop suddenly and all eyes went to the entrance of Merlotte's. Bill Compton walked in. For a lot of the patrons, I could hear from their minds that it was the first vampire that they were seeing in person. There hadn't really been a vampire in Bon Temps. In this timeline or the one that I had come from.

He took a seat at the same table that he had the first night that I had met him. I looked around the bar and saw that the Rattrays were in the booth near his. I dipped into their minds, and already the wheels were turning about draining Bill. I thought for a moment, just a split second, about letting them do it. But Bill, while he had deceived me, broken my heart, lied and betrayed me, still really did love me back home, and had saved my life. Maybe I had a chance to change some things here?

I shook my head and headed over to Bill's table. "Hey Bill. Nice to see you here. I'm so sorry, but we don't have any True Blood. Wine?" I asked, and Bill looked up at me and looked almost… disgusted? Had he looked at me like that before?

"That will be fine, thank you."

"Great, coming right up." I said, and practically skipped over to the bar.

"What's he doing here?" Sam asked as he poured the glass.

"Shhh Sam, he can hear you ya know."

"I don't really care if he can hear me or not chere."

I rolled my eyes as I put the glass of wine on my tray and headed back to Bill. "Here ya go." I said as I set it down in front of him.

"Don't you mind crazy Sookie there mister. None of the rest of us do." Mack said leaning towards Bill. Bill simply scowled at him and then turned back to me.

"Sookie, lovely to see you this evening. I was wondering if I could speak with you? I have a proposition for you from… New Orleans."

"I'll swing back by when I have a minute." I said, and headed off to one of the other tables.

Two hours later, Bill was in the booth with the Rattrays, and I could practically see history repeating itself. I figured though that I would let him head outside with them, get the draining started, and then Bill would 'owe me' one for saving his butt. To bad I couldn't tell him it'd be for the second time in this situation. I went back to serving my table, and tried to remember to glance over at the Rattrays and Bill every now and then, but before I knew it, time had completely slipped by, and they were gone.

"Shoot." I said as I dropped my tray off at the bar. "Sam, I'll be right back." I hurried towards the door, but turned around to look in the bar one last time. I noticed Jason sitting with Hoyt and some girl I didn't recognize. I thought back to that night from the other timeline, and nodded to myself as I headed out the door.

I went to find Jason's truck first, and just like before, he had his chain in the back of it. I pulled it out as quietly as I could, and made my way around back to where the Rattrays had taken Bill before. Sure enough, they were there, and Bill was bound by his wrists, chest, and ankles with silver chains.

I hid behind a truck until just the right moment, and then I sprung. I whipped the chain around and smacked Mack right dead center in the middle of his back. He let out a whoop and turned to face me.

"Damnit!" he said, and reached down in to his boot, pulling out a knife, just like he had before. Only this time, I was prepared. And I was a lot stronger than I had been, thanks to sharing blood with Eric.

I whipped the chain round again, and this time, like it had before, it wrapped around his neck, and started to choke him. I was expecting him to fall to the ground, so this time, I held on to my end of the chain good and tight, and I still had a pretty strong grip on it when he hit the ground.

He dropped his knife, and I bent down and picked it up. "Listen here. You both get out of here, and don't come back." I said, feeling mightily proud of myself all over again.

"You crazy ass bitch." Denise practically spit at me as she went to Mack's side. She helped to lift him, and they headed to their car, with Mack still choking from the chain being wrapped around his neck. I went to Bill and this time, wordlessly, started to unravel the silver chains from him.

"Oops, almost forgot." I said to myself as I heard the Rattrays car start. I pulled on Bill and he scooted his way to the tree line just as Denise slammed on the breaks and swerved, just barely missing a pine tree.

I finished unwrapping Bill's wrists and he brought them to his chest. "You're welcome." I said a little tartly.

"Thank you."

"No problem." I said, rising to my feet as I undid the last of the chain around his ankles. "I need to get back inside, are you fine here?"

"I'm to weak to fight if they come back. Will you stay with me a moment?"

"Sure." I said, and took a seat on a rock near him. It was nice to be off my feet, if only for a moment.

"Sookie. Might I take this time to have the conversation with you I asked about earlier?" I nodded for him to continue. "The Queen is requesting your services."

"For what?" I asked.

"There is a summit approaching. She would like you to join as part of her retinue."

"In Rhodes?" I asked.

Bill looked puzzled for a moment. "Yes. And due to the turn of events with your bonding to Northman, we cannot just bring you as we had previously planned."

Boy, he sure didn't shy around that one did he. 'Cannot just bring you' seemed to be his nice way of saying 'kidnap'. "I'll do it. But I want to get paid for it. In fact, I don't mind working for her, but I want to be paid for my time. I'll come to her when she needs me, but as an employee, not as a pet."

"You wish to bargain with her for money?" Bill laughed. "Sookie, let me rephrase my original statement. The queen is requesting your presence at the Summit in Rhodes. She has yet to punish Eric for disobeying a direct order from her. Perhaps it would be in both of your best interest if you joined her out of the... kindness of your heart?"

"So she's reduced to threats now?" I asked. I stood then. My anger was building, and I was starting to regret saving Bill. Is this what he would have done had he not been able to seduce me? Threaten someone I loved to get his hands on me?

"This is no threat." Bill said, rising to his feet. "It's in two weeks. As her most senior sheriff, Eric will be attending as well, regardless if you are there or not." He walked over to me, invading my personal space. But I didn't back down. "If he returns or not is up to you. You will join her majesty?" he asked.

"I'll be there. But I will get paid for this. And I want the money up front."

"What makes you think she's going to pay you?"

"Like I said, I don't mind working for her when she needs me, as long as I'm paid for my services. Don't you think she would think it was better if I came to work for her willingly? That we had good faith in each other?" I couldn't help the small smile that crept at the corners of my mouth then. The look on Bill's face was priceless. He seemed shocked and appalled to be bargaining with a mere human.

"I'll have to speak with her regarding this." was all he replied.

"Well, you tell her this. I'll do Rhodes free of charge if she promises to let Eric off the hook. After that, like I said, I'm willing to work for her when she needs me, but I expect to get paid for my services."

"I will discuss your terms with her, and have her ruling on this matter for you tomorrow." Bill smiled a little. "You are very brave, Sookie Stackhouse. I think Sophie-Anne may have my head for listening to a bargan with a human. But I believe that she wants you bad enough to consider it. So consider yourself lucky." Bill nodded and then bowed slightly to me before leaving on foot. He took off at vampire speed, and as soon as he was gone, I let out a giant breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding. I practically fell to the ground when a set of hands caught me.

"Lover, what's wrong?" Eric asked as he scooped me up into his arms. I captured his lips with mine and seemed to take him aback for a moment. "This is not what you were feeling a moment ago." he said when I released him from my lips clutches.

"I've had a crazy night, and I'll tell you all about it, but right now, I need to get back inside to finish my shift." I said, trying to wiggle out of his arms. My wiggling didn't do any good. He had a strong grip on me, and my movements had managed to arouse him, even thought there was concern and anger practically pouring off him.

"I've missed you." he whispered into my hair as he started to nuzzle my neck.

"I've only been gone a few hours."

"I don't like waking up alone."

"You woke up alone for a long time before I came into the picture." I smiled at him and kissed him quickly on the neck, since his face was still buried in mine.

"But now you have spoiled me, and I don't want to go back." He kissed my neck a few more times, licked once, and then nipped my earlobe with his teeth before he set me down. I was practically a puddle of goo when he finally did. I had to take a deep breath.

Eric inhaled as well, even though he didn't breathe, and his face turned from seductive to a scowl. He looked around, and then back down at me. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Why do I smell Compton?" he asked, and leaned down, taking a whiff of me. "You smell like him."

"And there's a reason for it. But like I said, I'll tell you later." I got up on my tip toes and Eric leaned down a little and I gave him a kiss. "I have to go back in." I said, and turned just as Sam was opening the back door to the bar. He spotted us and I started to walk in his direction.

"Everything okay out here?" he asked as I walked past him. I hadn't realized Eric was following me, but I could feel his irritation.

"She's fine, shifter." Eric said as he stopped just outside the back door. "I'll be here when you get off Lover." he said, and then took off into the sky.

Sam looked to me, and I could tell from his thoughts that he was thinking of a way to cover for the 'shifter' comment that Eric had made. "Give it a rest Sam, I know." I said and headed back to the bar.

"You know?" he said, walking quickly to catch up. He took me by the arm and stopped me. He looked around, and then pulled me in to his office and shut the door. "What do you know?" He leaned back against his desk.

"That you're two-natured. You're a shape shifter. You usually like to turn into a collie."

"How…"

"Don't worry, Eric didn't rat you out. I figured it out on my own." I lied, but I wasn't about to spill the beans to Sam just yet regaining my memory. I was surprised that Eric had taken it so well. And I was sure that Claudine just thought that I was mad. I decided then that I would try to leave Sam out of this unless it was necessary.

"Well… good then. I guess." he said, and looked a little dumbfounded.

"Now I've got to get back to work. Poor Holly's out there all by herself, and it's not exactly a slow night."

I headed out to the bar and apologized to Holly for taking off like I had. I went to Jason next and pulled out some of my tips from the night. "I lost your chain. The one you keep in the back of your truck. I hope this covers it, and if it doesn't, let me know and I'll give you the rest."

"What did you need my chain for?"

"The Rat's were trying to drain that vampire Bill that you met. I stopped them with the chain, but Mack left with it still wrapped around his neck."

"Way to go Sook." Hoyt chimed in. I glanced over at him and smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed help?" Jason half asked and half exclaimed. "You could have gotten hurt."

"Well, I didn't. And the only thing lost was your chain, and I'm real sorry about that." I said, and smiled down at Jason now. "Can I get you boys anything? Ma'am?" I asked to the pretty brunette my brother and Hoyt were sitting with. She had smiled and thought that I seemed pretty cool when I had told Jason about what I had done.

"I think we're good here." Hoyt answered. I nodded and headed back to my tables.

After that, it was a pretty dull evening. The dinner crowd had come and gone, and really all that was left was the local lush, Jane Bodehouse. Since Eric wasn't going to be back until two, I offered to let Holly go for the evening so that she could get back to her son. She happily left, wishing me a good night and telling me she would see me tomorrow night.

"I called her son to come pick her up." Sam said as he came to my side at the bar. Jane was the only one left at this point and she looked like she was going to pass out at any moment.

"I've got all my closing duties done." I said. I could feel that Eric was close. Probably outside in back waiting for me already.

"Go on. Get outa here." Sam said, I thanked him and told him I would see him tomorrow. I went to his office and retrieved my purse and then practically skipped out the back door.

"Jump." Eric said, holding his arms out to me as I bound out the back door. I did as I was told, and wrapped my legs around his waist as he caught me. He practically devoured me there in the parking lot.

"Can we go home please?" I said when he finally let my mouth free so I could take a breath. He set me down and we went to my car. He had apparently flown here again. I got in the drivers seat and Eric reluctantly took the passenger side. We stopped at my house, and I swapped out some clothes to bring back to his place.

Once we were back on the road, I started to tell Eric about my run in with Bill earlier that night.

"I was wondering how she was going to punish me. I was surprised it had not happened sooner."

"There is a very strong possibility that when we go to Rhodes, there will be the explosion I told you about. But this time, at least we will know it's coming."

"Perhaps we will not even have to go. You will see Niall again before it's time for the Summit, correct?"

"Yep. You're right. And hopefully, we'll be back home soon."

"You are still so sure that it is both of us here in this time line?"

"Positive. Your draw to me doesn't make sense otherwise."

Eric seemed to think that over for a minute, and then my car sputtered a little, and he frowned. "If you're going to be traveling between Bon Temps and Shreveport you need a better car."

"There's a lot of things I need, but I just don't have the money for them."

"I will buy you a car." he said with some certainty and a little smugness.

"And this time, I'm going to let you."

"Why?" he asked. He seemed surprised that I had given in so easily compared to what I had told him about us before.

"Because you're my husband and I'm your wife, even if you don't remember it. So if you want to do something nice for me, well, I'm not going to say no this time." He smiled big, and I could see his pearly whites. "But nothing crazy, you hear me. I'm fine with just a little compact car. Nothing flashy, nothing fast, nothing huge."

"Done."


	14. Chapter 14

**Tuesday update! Yahoo!**

**Happy Tuesday everyone! I had a lousy day, but writing made me feel better. And reading all the comments did to. You guys ROCK, and so do your comments, and I'm glad that ya'll are digging what I'm writing.**

**Anywho, A/N at the bottom.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans!**

* * *

And hour or so later, we were laying in bed. I was still a puddle of jello from our latest round of love making, and still trying to catch my breath. Eric turned on his side and put a leg over me, and an arm, pulling me to him slightly.

"You love me?" he asked, his voice heavy with contentment.

"I told you I did." I smiled back to him. "You don't believe me?"

"I do."

"Believe me?"

"Love you."

"Oh." I said and smiled at him.

* * *

"Sookie, wake up." I heard Eric saying over me. He kissed me and I smiled. "Get up." he said.

"What?" I yawned as I stretched. I looked over at the clock. "It's only four thirty, sun's not up for two more hours."

"Yes but I want to show you something." he said, and pulled on my hand a little. It made me laugh. He was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. I sighed and threw back the covers. I slipped on a pair of sweats and a tank top and my slippers. I grabbed my robe as we passed the bathroom and headed with him out to the living room. "Close your eyes." he said, and reached out for my hand. I rolled my eyes and then shut them as I took his hand. I could tell by our direction that he was leading me out to the front door. It felt like we walked to the driveway, and here he pulled me in front of him and put his arms around my waist.

"Open your eyes." he said, and squeezed me a little. I did so, a bit reluctantly. I knew I was going to be staring at my new car, but I was scared to death at what I hadn't said as stipulations that he would have found a loop hole for.

"What's that?" I asked, looking at the car in front of me.

"It's a Prius. Do you like it?"

"It's the same shade of blue as your eyes." I laughed a little.

"It is… environmentally friendly." he said, struggling with the words a little as if it was the first time he was saying them. I laughed. "Are you laughing at me?"

"Yep. And thank you, I love it." I turned around and hugged him, letting my body fold in to his.

"It is fully paid for. And you don't have to worry about the insurance either."

"Now wait a minute. I can at least pay for my own insurance."

"I put you under my plan. So it is my bill, and I will pay it."

I let go of Eric and put my hands on my hips and sighed heavy. "You know what, arguing with you about it isn't worth it. Because you're going to get your way. I could get my own insurance, but what's the point in wasting the money." Eric wagged his eyebrows at me and his smile was from ear to ear. I turned back to the car. "Are you even going to fit in that thing?"

"Oh yes. It's bigger on the inside. I was in one once. Pam test drove one before she got the car she has now. With the seat back, I fit perfectly in the front seat."

I eyed the car again, "Yeah, I can see Pam in one of these." I turned back to Eric and hugged him again. "Can we go back to bed now?"

"You don't want to drive it around the block?"

"I do, but I can do that later. Right now, I want to thank you properly for the lovely car."

* * *

"Hey Sam." I said as I parked in the back of Merlotte's. Sam just kind of eyeballed my car and then smiled. He had been taking out the trash when I pulled in.

"Well look at you." Sam said as I got out of the car. I pressed the key to lock the car and turned back to Sam. "Nice. I didn't know you were shopping for a new car."

"I wasn't. Eric bought it for me."

Sam's smile turned to a frown for a moment, but he eventually smiled again. "Well, I'm glad you got something reliable."

I got to work, and shortly after sunset, Bill showed up. All eyes didn't go to him like they had the night before. Only some, which were customers who hadn't been there the night before. Without hesitation, I went to the bar and had Sam pour a glass of red wine for him.

"So, what's the verdict?" I asked as I set the glass of wine down at his table. The smell of it seemed to almost irritate him, and I remembered how food had that effect on Bill.

"When is your break?"

"In about an hour."

"Meet me out back." he said, and I nodded.

"What's he want tonight?" Sam asked as I returned to the bar to pick up a pitcher of beer for Jason's table.

"Vampire business." I said, and Sam eyeballed me for the second time that night. "Oh it's nothing serious. Don't look at me like that Sam Merlotte."

"I just hate to see you get all mixed up with this nonsense chere."

"Oh and you think I don't?" I sighed. "It's really nothing Sam, I promise." I picked up the pitcher. "And I need to talk to you after work if you've got a minute." He nodded that he would, and I made my way over to Jason's table.

* * *

Business had picked up a bit, and I was about thirty minutes late to my break, but I wasn't about to leave Holly alone with a busy restaurant. Now it had slowed down enough that I didn't feel guilty taking my break, and Holly covered my tables. I went out the back door and looked around for Bill. He had left his table shortly after I had dropped off his wine, and I had assumed that he had just come out here to wait for me.

"Bill?" I asked into the night. There was no answer. I walked out a little towards my car and looked around. I opened my mind up, let down my shields to look for the blank spot that I always got from vampires, and I heard something.

I ducked, but it wasn't soon enough, and I got smacked in the back with something hard, and it hurt like the devil. I toppled the rest of the way forward and put my hands out to brace me, but it wasn't quick enough and my face hit the dirt.

Damnit! This wasn't supposed to happen for a few more nights, and not until later in the night. The Rats were taking a huge risk attacking me while it was still so early in the evening. There was still customers coming and going, and they risked being seen or heard.

I stayed on my stomach as Mack started to kick my sides. I brought my arms and hands up to the sides of my face and tried to curl into a little protective ball. I sent wave after wave of need to Eric. Need for him to come and get me as soon as possible if what was going to happen next would indeed happen as it had before.

Every time I tried to scream for help, it felt like Mack was kicking the air right out of me. Whatever he had in his hands that he had hit be with before, a metal pipe it seemed from what I was getting from his mind, he kept hitting my back with. It hurt, bad, and the first time I had been attacked, it was the most physically painful thing that I had ever experienced. Now, not nearly as painful as some of the other stuff I'd been through since, but painful none the less.

I heard a couple cracks, and found that it was a little harder to breath than it had been. Some of my ribs had been cracked or broken I suspected. Then I felt my arm snap as one of them kicked it for the third time. But like before, and again since then, I wasn't going to just lie there and let myself get beaten nearly to death. I reached out the next time a leg came near me and I grabbed on to it with all the strength I had.

The person who's leg it was struggled to pull it back from me, and I gave it one good yank and brought the owner of said leg falling right on their backside. It was Denise Rattray. Now that she was on the ground, she kicked at my face with her free leg. She managed to get one good kick in and break my nose before I couldn't hold any more and let her lose.

And that's when Mack kicked me square in the back, and I heard a familiar crack, and almost instantly felt nothing from that point down.

"What the hell is that?" Mack said as he stopped mid kick, only partly landing it between my shoulder blades. Him and Denise both looked around. I hadn't heard anything, but I was suspecting that they were hearing Bill or Sam, or both. I heard Mack scream, followed by Denise.

I knew that they would die, just like they had before. Only this time, I realized something that I hadn't noticed before. I would have to discuss it with Eric I thought just before I coughed up a little blood.

"Crap." I said, and tried to lift myself. It was no use. My arm was broken, and so was my back. I had some broken ribs, and a broken nose. I was ready for them to attack me like they had done before, I was expecting it, but not for a few more nights.

"I'm going to lift you." I heard Bill say over me. The Rats were gone, probably dead now that they had served their purpose, and Bill was just standing there, looking concerned. I could tell now it was fake.

"Eric will be here soon. Go get Sam." I said, but he didn't listen. Instead, he put his arms under me and I screamed a lot when he did, but it was weak, and I doubt that anyone inside the bar heard it. Bill brought us over just inside the tree line. He sat me down on the ground, propping my back against a tree.

I could hear the wheezing that was my breathing, and it was shallow and gurgley. I had that feeling that if I didn't get help soon, I was going to die. I focused back to Bill, who was sitting just in front of me. His fangs extended and he opened up his wrist. "Drink." he said, offering it to me.

"No. I'll wait for Eric."

"You may not have time for that. You will die if you don't take blood, and soon."

"I can wait for Eric." I said, and realized that it was a lot harder to breath now.

"Sookie, there isn't time. Can you tell where he is?" he asked, and I felt around for Eric. He was far, that I could tell. "He's probably in New Orleans by now. If he left there when he felt you getting attacked, he still wouldn't be here in time." Bill reopened his wrist. "Now please, drink, or you will die."

I felt for Eric one last time. I could tell he was on his way, and the fear and anger rolling off him could have been felt half way across the country, but Bill was right. Eric wasn't going to make it on time. I felt like I was going to cry having to take Bill's blood. But what other choice did I have?

I had Eric's blood in my system, but I hadn't had it in nearly a week, and it was enough to keep me hanging on, but I had a feeling not for very much longer. I took Bill's wrist with my good arm and brought it to my mouth. I pulled a few times, just enough I thought to keep me alive. Just enough until Eric got there, and he could heal me the rest of the way up.

"You're an ass." I said as I felt my body starting to heal. I was doing everything I could to stay conscious. I had to focus on Bill, I had to keep talking. I wasn't going to pass out and have him do something to me. Give me more blood against my will.

"Is that any way to thank me for saving your life?"

"Ha." I laughed, but it hurt. "Save my life. You let them beat me up. You let them do this to me so that you could get your blood in me."

"Why would I risk your life when the Queen values it so much?" he said, and i swear that I saw him smirk for just a second.

"You knew very well what you were doing." I said, and then I spit out some blood. I hated to spit, it was un-lady-like and crude, but I had no choice.

"If you think that this jeopardizes your bond with Eric, it will not. He is much older than me. My blood wouldn't overpower his in you."

"No, but you'll be able to tell where I am now. And you'll be able to sense my feelings. I know it's only temporary, but you've got no business knowing that stuff in the first place."

"I could not allow you to die. Eric was no where close. I had to do what had to be done."

"And if you had stopped the Rats in the first place, instead of watch, I would never have needed your blood."

"Sookie…"

"It's Mrs. Stackhouse to you buddy." I almost said Northman, but we weren't pledged, vampire-married, in this timeline.

Bill huffed out of frustration. "Mrs. Stackhouse, I would not have let them attack you. If I had been here sooner, I would have stopped them."

"And I don't believe a word you just said. So I guess we can just agree to disagree on the subject because this is going no where, and I decided that I'm through talking to you." With that, I tried to move around a little, found that I could feel my legs again, and tried to get up. I was unsuccessful. I wobbled a little trying to balance in a hunched position, and fell back on my behind. Bill watched in silence.

"I have an answer for you from the Queen." he finally said. I rolled my eyes. I was frustrated that I couldn't get away from him. "She has considered what you have said and will accept your offer for Rhodes. As far as working for her in the future, she will have a contract drawn up. One that I'm sure will benefit you both."

"Is that all you came to tell me?"

"Yes."

"Then go get Sam and get out of my sight." I practically spat at him. Bill got up and sauntered back to the bar, and a few moments later, Sam came running out the back.

"Jesus Sook!" he said as he approached me. I looked down at my clothes and they were covered in blood and dirt and gunk.

"I look a lot worse than I feel. Help me up." I said, raising my now healed arm up to him. He took it and then took my other, and lifted me as gently as he could. I was able to stand with his assistance, and he walked me to his trailer and inside. He tried to get me to sit on his couch, but I refused. I didn't want to ruin it. He got an old blanket after I insisted, and laid that on the couch for me before I had a seat.

"It was the Rats." I said as he looked me over.

"I'll call the police." he said, and dug his cell out of his pocket.

"Don't bother. They're dead I think." At least that's what Bill had done with them last time. "And how am I going to explain how my clothes look this terrible, but I don't have a cut on me." Sam thought pretty strongly about how I healed so quick, since there was a lot of blood, and most of my wounds had healed. "Bill gave me some of his blood." I said, lowering my head. I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. I had wanted to cry since Bill first opened his wrist and offered me his blood, but I didn't dare cry in front of him.

"Where's Eric?"

"New Orleans, according to Bill." I said between sobs. "But he's on his way back. I can feel him getting closer."

"Why's he down there?"

I hadn't thought about that yet. Why was Eric in New Orleans? I looked up at Sam. "I don't know."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Sam was helping me up off the couch and out his door, in to Eric's waiting arms. I held it together as best I could when I finally saw him, and I managed not to cry. Eric's nostrils flared the moment he got a whiff of me, and I was sure that he was smelling Bill's blood running through me. He pulled me to him the second Sam had me out the door, and he was quite honestly keeping me from collapsing from everything that had happened tonight.

"Will you be alright if I pick you up?" he asked. I merely shook my head that I would be fine, and he lifted me, carrying me what I had decided to refer to as 'Gone With The Wind' style, since that was what I thought of each time he did it. Sam handed me my purse, and I fished my keys out and handed them to Eric once we were at my car. He slid me in to the passenger seat, and then had to push the driver seat back before he could even get in the car.

We drove in absolute silence the first half of the way back to his house. The tension was so thick in the car. He was on edge, and I was just in a sour mood.

"Why were you in New Orleans?" I finally asked.

"The Queen summoned me." he said back. His tone was dry and sharp.

"What did she want?"

"I don't know. When I arrived, she was detained and unable to see me for the evening."

I thought about that for a moment. "It was to get you far away from me so that the Rattray's could attack me, and Bill would be the only one around to give me blood." And I was sorry the second that I finished that sentence, because Eric's fist went through the drivers side window.

"I'm going to kill him." Eric hissed.

"And right now, I really wish that you could. But you can't. You'll get in trouble with the Queen. And I just got done getting you out of it."

"She accepted your offer?" he said, and I was happy that he was changing the subject, if only partly.

"Yep. We go to Rhodes, and I work for her there, and she doesn't have you killed."

"I would like to see her try." he laughed.

"I would rather just have her not try. You may be a big bad Viking, but I think we've both seen tonight how devious her and Bill can be when they want something."

We were silent after that the rest of the way home. Eric told me my window would be fixed by the time that I got up in the morning, and not long after we got inside, he called Bobby to make the arrangements. He had carried me in, and took me to the bathroom to clean up. He helped me in the shower and got in with me, and God bless him for not laying a finger on my sore body other than to help wash me. He was aroused, and there was no missing it, but he kept it under control.

After the shower which felt amazing, he dried me off, put me in a sleep shirt and bottoms, and carried me to bed, even though I had told him I could walk there. He settled in with me, and I rested against his body. He was sitting up in bed, and I rested my head against his chest. Once we were both comfortable, he brought his wrist to his mouth and I heard the familiar pop and snap as his fangs extended and he bit into his skin. He offered his wrist to me and I took it without saying a word.

* * *

"He saved you. I could feel that you were near death."

"He's the reason I was near death in the first place." I said, and hugged Eric a little tighter.

"He won't go unpunished for this."

"I didn't want to take his blood." I said, and a tear fell from me and landed on his chest.

"You had no choice." he said, and lifted my chin with his hand. He kissed away another tear that was sliding down my cheek. "And I am glad that you are alive."

"Me too."

"I'm glad that he did not try to turn you." He contemplated for a moment before he spoke again. "I would have Pam do it perhaps."

"I don't want to be turned." I said, and Eric raised an eyebrow. I forgot that he didn't remember that I didn't want to be turned. "You don't remember, but we've had this conversation. I don't want to be a vampire. And it looks like I'm gonna need you to promise me again that you won't do it. If you can't save me, don't turn me."

Eric mulled that over for a few minutes and I was getting a little nervous. He finally answered. "I promise."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for all the love and whatnot!**

**Eric's choice in car was from my bestie. I had to incorporate something about him in there.**

**And I know that there are some out there who would love to see Sookie turned, and see her live HEA for eternity, but I honestly like the fact that Charlaine Harris has said she would never turn her. I have my reasons for agreeing with her, and so it won't happen here. But I also understand why that would be an awesome turn of events, cause part of me would love to see them go on for eternity.**

**Also, if you're a fellow Gleek, you should go and read my besties fanfic. You can find it under my favorite stories. His pen name is J.R. Pendragon and his story is "Glee: The Revival". It's pretty awesome! **

**Anywho, more on Sunday, and just an advanced warning: I'm going to be out of town and without access to a computer from April 17th through April 24th. ROAD TRIP! (Which includes a trip to Forks, WA. Yeah, THAT Forks. But don't worry, I'm already planning on wearing my "Team Eric" shirt, and carrying a sign around that reads "Screw Edward, I want my Gracious Plenty." As soon as I'm back, you better believe that my pic here is getting updated to THAT.)**

**I promise to do an EXTRA LONG AND HOPEFULLY AWESOME chapter before I leave, and post again as soon as I can when I get back.**

**Just giving some advanced warning.**

**Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Happy Sunday everyone!**

**Thanks as always for all the wonderful comments! You guys are great, and as usual have rocked my socks.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**

* * *

I woke up about an hour before dawn on my own. Eric usually woke me so that we could spend time together before he slept for the day, but I noticed that he wasn't in bed with me. I felt around for him half through the bond and half through my other sense. It felt like he was in his office. I shucked off the covers and threw on a robe.

Of course he heard me coming, and he hung up with whatever phone call he had been on as I entered. He turned towards me and I walked right over and sat sideways on his lap, draping an arm over his shoulder and laying my head on his chest. His arm came up and wrapped around my back and to my waist.

"Why are you upset?" I asked. It was dancing around between our bond. I was fighting it off since I had woken. I simply wasn't going to be mad now about something I couldn't change.

"I was taking care of the Bill situation." he huffed. I kissed his chest.

"He's not so bad, in the other timeline…" I started, but realized that defending him right now was maybe not the best decision.

"Finish what you were saying." he said after a moment.

I thought about the time that Bill had come over to nail up the plywood on the broken window when Mickey had attacked Tara. Eric had called him to bring the items, and because he was in Eric's territory, Bill had to comply. I think that he would have done it anyway since it was for me, but he had answered regardless, to Eric's call. It wasn't so bad that night until they both because aware that they both knew the other knew they had slept with me. I felt awkward, and I was sure that Bill seemed a little awkward, or angry, knowing that Eric now knew of the relationship that we had had while he had amnesia.

I thought about how I had ended up in that situation, staying at one of Sam's rentals. I had gotten shot. It was nearly as painful as the beating from the Rat's, but not nearly as painful as the torture from Lochlan and Neave.

And I thought about another event that night. Eric had come to get rid of Mickey. To help get Tara released from him. He had made me a little nervous that night, and I think that if Mickey hadn't shown up outside, Eric would have either drained me like he said, or we would have ended up in bed together. I smirked a little thinking of his comment to me that night.

I wasn't sure why I had thought of this all of the sudden, but I had.

"What?" I heard him ask, and it snapped me back to reality.

"I was just thinking about the time that I got shot." I said with a sigh. Eric raised a questioning eyebrow. "There was someone gunning for Shifters and Weres. I got mistaken as one of them because the shooter smelled that I had been around some the day I was shot and I thought that I was one. But in the end, she said I was guilty by association anyway."

"And I knew you then?"

"It wasn't long after you recovered from your amnesia…" I trailed off. I didn't want to open old wounds. "Anyway, this reminds me, Long Shadows maker, Hot Rain, at some point is going to send an assassin after me. His name is Charles Twinning."

"Why will he send someone to kill you?"

"Because of the retribution or whatever that you had to pay for Long Shadow's death. He's not going to find it suitable. So he's going to try to hurt you like you hurt him. And so that means killing me."

Eric seemed to file that bit of information and then nodded to me. "You trailed off topic."

"Well, I think that Bill was different there because he fell in love with me. This Bill didn't get the chance." I saw Eric scowl. "Not that I'm defending him, I'm just saying. He came to Bon Temps in both timelines with a mission, and here, that was thwarted because I was already with you. In the other time line, it was thwarted because he fell in love with me. And because of that, I think he didn't do what he had intended originally. Now, this Bill doesn't have that moral dilemma, having to turn in the woman that he loves. This one is ruthless. And he's going to try to do what he can to get what he wants."

"But it is jeopardizing the trust that the Queen was trying to build with you."

"It most certainly does. But I don't think he counted on me knowing that he was there the whole time the Rats were attacking me."

That sent a shiver through me. Because I was almost sure of it now that on the original night that I had been attacked that Bill had probably been waiting in the shadows for them to do a number on me, and then swoop in and save the day. I shivered again. Eric took it that I was cold, and suggested that we go back to bed. I didn't even have to get up, he just scooped me up where I sat on his lap, and carried me back to bed. He laid me gently on my side, and pulled the covers up over me and then got in next to me.

I turned on my side to face him and kissed him gently. I smiled at him and he smiled a little back. "I want you to take my blood again before I go to sleep for the day." I wasn't going to deny it. I wanted to feel better. And Eric's blood was old and strong, and I was sure that by the time that he woke up that night, I would be right as rain.

But it didn't stop me from feeling a little guilty. Taking his blood was a huge turn on for Eric. And I was feeling perhaps a little survivor lust for him, mingled in with my normal hormone overload anytime I was near him. He had been sweet tonight. He knew that I had been in pain, and wanted me to rest and heal, and even though taking blood from him and showering with him seemed to be a little trying, he had been a gentleman.

Eric brought his wrist to his mouth and I heard the pop and snap again as he bit in to his wrist. I had positioned myself with my back against his side and he brought his wrist to my mouth. I took a few quick pulls and heard and felt the arousal in him.

"I'm fine… if you want to, you know." I said, and blushed a little.

"No, today you will heal." he said with a little strain. The marks on his wrist closed, and I turned on my side and snuggled up to him. "Now, you and I shall sleep, and I will see you tonight." He kissed the top of my head and I was back asleep before I knew it.

* * *

I woke up at about two in the after noon. I felt around next to me for the bedside lamp and switched it on. Eric looked almost angelic. His blonde hair spread out over his pillow. I gave him a quick kiss and headed out to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

I was the teaniest bit sore, but all in all, I felt fantastic. And when I saw myself in the mirror, I looked fantastic. Nearly every sign of the attack from the night before was gone. I had a small scar on my cheek, but it was nearly healed and I assumed would be gone in a day at the most. But my hair was shiny, my skin firm and practically glowing. My eyes were bright and I felt like a million bucks.

I showered again, and changed into a clean pair of jeans and a blouse that I had taken to Eric's house previously. I found my Merlotte's outfit and saw the dried dirt and blood, caked on in places that it had mingled. I thought about burning it, but decided in the end that I would take it home and see if I could get it clean. Besides, the black pants that I had been wearing were my favorite ones for work, and I was going to salvage them if I could.

I gathered up a few other belongings, left Eric a note that I was going in to work, and would meet him at Fangtasia once I was off. I knew he was going to be mad that I was going in to work, but I really did feel fine, and I had to talk to Sam at the very least. I thought for a minute if Sam was even going to let me return to work. He had seen me the night before. He was going to know that I was taking Eric's blood. He already knew that I had had Bills.

But I really just didn't care.

I stopped at home and threw my clothes in the washer. I made myself some lunch and waited for the wash cycle to finish before I threw the stuff in the dryer. The shirt didn't seem to have a chance, but my work pants had faired fairly well. They just might be alright I thought and then about flew through the roof when Claudine popped in to my kitchen.

"What might just be alright?" she asked.

"My work pants. They got all dirty and bloody last night." I said as I hit the start on my dryer. I turned to face her. "Where the hell were you last night?"

"Blood? Who's blood?"

"Mine. I almost got beaten to death last night. Where were you? I thought you were supposed to be watching over me."

"But I thought…" She trailed off and seemed to be thinking to herself. I tried to pry, but she put up a wall. "Don't you go peeking into my personal business Sookie Stackhouse."

"What did you think?"

"Nothing. So you got attacked last night? I didn't sense anything wrong. I would have been there if I had."

I sighed. "I know you would have." I looked up to her now. "Why didn't you sense anything wrong?"

She shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe I was to far out of range or something." She thought to herself that she wasn't expecting this to happen the next night. That it wasn't how she remembered it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. Claudine made an angry face at me, she knew I had pried. I could see for a split second that she was going to pop away, so I reached out and grabbed her arm. "Claudine, you knew. You knew the whole time."

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Perhaps Niall was behind this. He was powerful, and this seemed like something he could possibly do, but Claudine had played dumb, and I had believed her. But she was expecting me to get beat up by the Rattray's from what I now gathered.

"Sookie, I don't know what you're talking about. I told you I didn't have anything to do with this."

"I don't believe you. I heard you clear as day, which is weird as well. I don't remember ever being able to hear your thoughts before… but that's besides the point. You knew, and just like me, you weren't expecting it to happen for a couple of days."

"Sookie…" she started, but stopped. She looked past me, over my shoulder, and I could feel someone standing behind me.

"Child, release her." came my great grandfathers voice. He said it gently, and I didn't sense any anger coming from him, just love. I let go of Claudine, and she nodded to Niall, and popped away. I turned to face him and I had tears welling up in my eyes already.

"I want to go home." The tears started to run down my cheeks. My great grandfather came and embraced me. It wasn't really a hug, but it was somewhat comforting.

"I'm not sure what you mean child." It was almost a whisper. I thought for a moment that I really hoped that he was masking his scent. This was going to drive Eric up a wall if he wasn't.

"This timeline. Why are Eric and I here? What happened? Why wouldn't you come see me when I asked Claudine to tell you I wanted to see you?" I was rambling.

"I had an issue that I had to deal with." He patted my back, and then smoothed his hand across my hair. He made soothing noises to try to calm me, and they worked a little. "But I'm here now. Tell me what's the matter."

Now I was getting a little frustrated. He knew damn well what was the matter. I lifted my head from his shoulder and crinkled my face. I sighed deep. "You don't have to pretend anymore. I remember everything." I thought about that for a moment while he looked at me a bit puzzled. "Well, almost everything."

"And what is everything?" he asked. Shouldn't I be the one asking the questions?

"From the other timeline. My real timeline. I just don't remember what happened just before Eric and I got here. And I can't figure out why this one is so different…"

Now Niall was looking at me as if there was something wrong with me. His gentle face contorted in a way that I had never seen before, and he led me to the living room where we had a seat. He had me sit on the couch, and he took the chair across from it. He asked me to elaborate, which I thought was funny.

But then I thought, maybe when he brought us here he had lost his memory too? Maybe that was a side effect of whatever kind of alternate timeline travel this was?

I spent the next hour and a half explaining to him, in detail, everything that had happened since I snapped into existence running down the highway. (Well, not every detail. There's some things you just don't tell your great grandfather.)

"What I don't get though it why some of the stuff is messed up."

"How so?" he asked.

"Well, stuff's out of order. It's all pretty much the same events, just jumbled around. Eric should have had the amnesia, not me. Hallow's group was weaker, and Sophie-Anne go to her group it seems before anyone in Area Five ever did. And last night, the attack from the Rattray's. And me meeting Bill the way that I did. It's like history is repeating itself, but out of order, so it's changing things."

"And you believe that I had something to do with this?"

"I do. And you're either keeping that from me, or you don't remember it either." I told him my little theory that I had had about this alternate timeline travel messing with your memory.

"That's very interesting, but to my knowledge, this isn't something that I know how to do. I don't even know if it is possible." The concern read all over his face. He thought I had gone nuts judging from the look on his face.

"Claudine knows something at least."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because when she was here, just before you came, she thought to herself that things weren't happening in the right order."

"Well, if she has figured out a way to move Eric and you, and perhaps herself, to this 'alternate timeline', then she knows something I do not." He seemed a little disheartened that Claudine was in one respect more powerful than him.

"Maybe in the other timeline you helped her. And the you in this timeline has no idea about it."

"If what you say is true, that could be possible."

"You don't believe me?"

Niall got up and came to sit at my side on the couch. "I do believe you." he finally said after a moments hesitation. "But I will have to do some research. I have never heard of this happening before, or being possible." A resolve set over him then. "If it is something that's possible, and I found a way in that timeline, I'm sure I will find it in this one."

He excused himself then, and made his way for my front door. I spied the clock and realized I was going to be late for work, but right now, I really didn't care. "I will let you know the moment I know anything." he said as he kissed my forehead and left.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late Sam." I said as I rushed passed the store room. I could see him in there. I made a b-line for his office and deposited my purse in the deep drawer of his desk. I turned to walk out and he was standing in the doorway.

"Sook, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked. I could see him scanning me for any sign of the fight from last night. Other than the small scar on my cheek, he wasn't going to find anything.

"Sam, I'm fine. All better. See?" I said as I met him at the door. He was blocking my way. I motioned that I wanted to go past him, and after a moment of hesitation he let me by. "No one else knows right?" I said as I passed him. I paused in the hallway for his response. He shook his head no and I continued on my way.

I got to my tables, but was completely distracted the entire evening. There was a lot to consider.

For one, Claudine knew more than she was saying. She was as aware as I was that this was not our real timeline, and that events were happening out of order. I was sure of that now. I had been doing some out loud thinking with Niall, and had suggested that perhaps he had helped her in the other timeline, but didn't come with her. Or if he did, he just didn't remember it yet. That seemed the most plausible at this point, but now more than ever I felt like I didn't know which way was up.

Second, if Claudine was the sole perpetrator, how had she done it? In the real timeline, she was dead. She was in the Summerland's. I didn't know much about that other than it seemed to be a kind of Heaven for the Fae. Could they communicate outside of it some how? Could she still be watching over me there? Like a guardian angel? She had once mentioned that she was working her way up to angel. She had been like a fairy godmother to me when she was alive. Perhaps in her death, she had completed her step to angel status?

Third, I needed to figure out what had happened just before Eric and I, and perhaps Niall and Claudine, came to this alternate universe. It was a little frustrating that I couldn't remember what had happened that Claudine and/or Niall had felt the need to bring us here. I tried to think of what was going on at the time, at least as far up as I could remember to.

I knew that Victor was still in charge of Louisiana and Arkansas for Felipe De Castro, and he wasn't happy about being appointed the Regent. He had been hoping to be made king, given his own territory, but Felipe didn't seem willing to give up the two states Victor looked after. Victor also had it in for Eric, and me by association. I was something Victor could use to hurt Eric.

There was also the letter that Eric had received. He still hadn't told me what it was about as far as I could remember up to, but I had my suspicions. I had narrowed it down to one of two things. My first thought was that it was Freyda asking Eric for an alliance so that she could take over Arkansas and Louisiana. Felipe was in Nevada, and if she attacked like he had, in one foul swoop, with Eric and probably anyone else he could think of who would be a good ally, along with the Sheriffs from her territory, she could take over both states before Felipe could do anything about it. I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't tell me about this other than he wanted to keep me as far away from it as he could, trying to keep me safe. I was glad now that he had shared with me some of the inner workings of vampire politics.

My other thought was that it was an order from Felipe to Eric, 'asking' that he transfer, or whatever vamp's would call it, to Nevada. This would mean that I would be expected to move with Eric since I was his wife, and thus end up in Nevada with Felipe where he had wanted me in the first place. I knew exactly why he didn't want to tell me about this, if it was the case. He wouldn't think that I would go with him. And maybe in that timeline, I would put up a fight, maybe I wouldn't go. I didn't want to leave my home against my will. That was the whole reason that he had bonded with me in the first place, to keep me from being bonded to Andre, and out of the queens direct influence. Then to keep me from having to leave for Nevada, he pledged to me, because he knew I didn't want to leave my home and be forced to work under Felipe.

Either way, something had happened after that, and somehow we ended up here, without any clue as to who brought us here or why.

I had been in such deep thought, I hadn't registered Eric waking. I felt some anger, but I thought it was my own at first, but now, as Eric stood in the doorway of Merlotte's, positively pissed, I realized that it was coming from him.

I knew Eric was mad I came to work, but I couldn't just leave Sam hanging. I was perfectly alright to come to work. Eric could be mad all he wanted, but it just wasn't like me not to show up if I could work. I had a obligation to Sam as his employee that as long as I was able, I would come to work on my scheduled shifts, and if I couldn't, or I needed time off for some reason, then I would talk to him about it. But I had no good reason to call in tonight since I felt better than I had when I came in the night before. Besides, Eric had to work at Fangtasia, so either way, we would have been apart for part of the evening.

Eric finally made his way in to the bar and had a seat in my section. I went to his table and stood at his side. "True Blood?" I asked as perky as I could.

"What are you doing here?" He was still angry.

"I had to work tonight. I felt fine. Better than fine in fact, so I came in."

"You should be resting." he said, and then closed his eyes and inhaled deep. When his eyes opened back up, they had a fire in them that I had seen before. Crud! He could smell Claudine and Niall. I decided to play it cool. I wanted him around me, sure, but not when I smelled like Niall. I could see him waging a small battle with his self control. So far, his self control was winning.

"And that is exactly what I intend on doing as soon as my shift is over." I smiled at him, but it didn't seem to have any affect. "Don't you have to work tonight?"

"Yes." he practically growled. The anger had all but disappeared, and lust was springing eternal.

"Well then you better scoot on over to Fangtasia. Don't want to keep the crowds waiting. I'll come by the bar as soon as I'm off. I'm not closing tonight, so I should be there around midnight." I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He took my hand and rose and I found myself being pulled right on back down the hall, past Sam's office, and right out the back door.

We went right over to my car and he backed me against it. "You saw Niall today." He tried very very hard not to slam my body too hard against my car, and was pressing his body against mine to the point where any harder, and it would have been painful.

"Yep, and you need to get yourself under control." I said, but practically fell to the ground with the kiss that came next. My libido was hopping all over the place. Now I was waging war with my self control, and like Eric was now, I was losing.

"You smell so fucking good." he said, and slid a hand down my side, across my stomach, and then lower. To low for a public place.

"Eric!" I said, grabbing his face between my hands. Thanks to his blood, I was able to pull him back just enough to get his attention. "Enough. We can most certainly finish this later, somewhere more private. But right now, I need to get back to work." I didn't want to seem to harsh, so as I pulled myself from between him and the car, I turned and gave his gorgeous butt a little smack and with that, the last of Eric's anger subsided, and he laughed.

I started to walk towards the back door, and Sam came out. "Sook, I need you in there." he said and I knew that I hadn't exactly left at the best time. I turned back to waive goodbye to Eric, who was still standing at my car, and as he started to return the gesture, he got the strangest look on his face, froze, and then turned his head towards the bushes and tree line just beyond Sam's trailer.

And then the next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Eric was in front of me suddenly, grabbing me by the waist and then lifting us both into the air lightning fast. And the moment that we lifted from the ground, I heard what sounded like a gun shot. I cowered against Eric's body as we rose, and I heard Sam holler a curse word from down below.

"Are they human?" Eric asked once we were a good fifty feet up and about a quarter of a mile away from Merlotte's.

"We're to far to hear I think. I can't hear anyone."

Eric stayed hovering for a moment, and then headed back to the tree line, closer to where Sam was. The gunshot had brought out a few patrons, and Sam was getting attended to. Now that we were closer, I scanned to see if I could hear anyone that I didn't recognize, but didn't pick up anything. If the shooter was who I thought they were, they were already to far away for me to hear them telepathically, and since this was out of order in the timeline, I had no clue where they would be going to.

But at least I had a name.

"Shooters gone." I said, and Eric slowly lowered us back to the ground just inside the tree line. I ran over to Sam to take a look at the damage. Just as before, they got him in the leg, and I suspected it was broken, like it had been the first time. There was blood everywhere, and although I was used to seeing blood at this point, seeing the blood of a good friend still made me a little queasy. I looked around at the few patrons who were outside, one of which was my brother, and noticed that Hoyt was already on a cell phone calling 911.

"Sook, you alright? Hey Eric." my brother said as he noticed us.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We're fine. Sam, I'm so sorry." I said, and turned away into Eric's chest. "I need to get back inside." I said, and Eric rubbed his hand up and down my back a few times before kissing the top of my head and letting me go. I watched him pull out his cell phone and walk away from the small group around Sam as he did.

I went inside to make sure everything was alright. Holly had things pretty much under control now that some of the folks had started to make their way out back to see what all the fuss was about. I helped her get caught up, and when I heard the ambulance arrive, I went to the back again. Eric seemed to have left, and I made sure Sam got loaded in to the ambulance just fine. Jason agreed to go with him to the hospital, and I let Sam know I would take care of things tonight, and he didn't have to worry.

As the ambulance pulled away, I headed back in along with the customers who had made their way outside. When I got to the floor area, something behind the bar caught my eye and I turned to find Eric pouring a beer.

I must have been making a strange face, because this was for sure something I never expected to see, and Eric looked over to me for a moment and then laughed. "You obviously can't leave work now. And you need a bartender." he said, and handed off the beer to Holly who took off to one of her tables with it. "And I am not leaving you alone here tonight, and I think you can understand why. So, I will tend the bar."

I smiled at him, leaned in for a quick kiss, and went to tend to my tables.


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy Sunday everyone!**

**I'm having serious issues trying to get this puppy uploaded last night and now today, so forgive me if there is anything in here that looks strange. I've tried to fix it as best as I could so forgive me for any mistakes.**

**Anywho, enjoy and then there is a special A/N down at the bottom.**

**And btw, this is for sure a rated M chapter. )**

**Snoogans!**

* * *

The rest of the night went by pretty much without a hitch. Eric was a big draw at the bar, and business picked up a little after he started serving drinks. I overheard some of the patrons who had been there when he started tending bar call their friends and neighbors to tell them to come see the vampire working at Merlotte's. Eric took it in stride, and seemed to even have a little fun enthralling the patrons. (I wasn't about to call them vermin like Pam did to the Fangtasia patrons. But I did agree with the enthralling part. Eric certainly did that without really even needing to try.)

Jason called from the hospital and gave us the news that I had already figured, which was Sam's leg was broken, but otherwise he would be fine. I told Jason to let Sam know we had things covered here, and I would make sure that we had things taken care of for him tomorrow, since I knew that he would need to rest at least that first day back home. But I knew Sam, and I remembered how he had been before, and even though there wasn't much he was going to be able to do, he was still going to come in to work and try to do something.

"Last time," I told Eric as I locked up the bar, "I came asking for a favor on behalf of Sam, and you sent him Charles Twinning as a temp replacement while Sam healed."

"And you are wondering if I will send someone again?"

"We have Terry, but he's damaged, mentally, and he won't be able to handle working the bar full time."

"I will find someone." He pulled out his phone and sent a text message to someone.

"Whoever you do find, make sure they aren't a Shifter or Were. The shooter is out to get them specifically." I said, reminded of Sweetie's motive from the other time line. Eric nodded and sent another message as we reached my car. He waited with me at the drivers door for a moment, and I think he was expecting me to hand over the keys and let him drive. "What are you waiting for, go get in the car." I said, motioning to the passenger side. Eric scowled and walked to the other side of the car. "It's my car, and I've hardly had a chance to drive it." I smiled at him and kissed him as I started the engine. It was weird just sticking the little key box into the dash and pushing a power button to start the car. And it was quiet as heck. Eric laughed as he saw me absent mindedly try to turn the key box instead of pushing the power button. "That's going to take some getting used to." I said and we pulled away.

Once we were home, I shucked off my clothes and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. It was a trying day and night, and I was mentally and physically exhausted. But there were still some things that I had to talk to Eric about. I joined him in the bedroom in my night shirt, and set my alarm for nine a.m. so that I could call Terry and let him know what happened, and see if he could open up the bar. He had a set of keys for the back door since he sometimes opened for Sam, and Sam trusted him enough to handle the responsibility. Sometimes Sam had a late night on full moons, and wouldn't wake up if there was a nuclear explosion right outside his window.

"That was fun tonight." I said as I cuddled up to Eric.

"Fun? Your boss was shot." He laughed a little.

"I mean the part about you working the bar for the rest of the night. I liked having you there."

"I enjoyed being in your company."

"I know you stayed to keep me safe." I patted his chest and hugged him. "And I appreciate it."

"Tell me what happened with Niall." he asked, and I did. I told him about what Claudine had said, and how I was sure of it now that she was involved.

"So either it's Niall and Claudine, or just Claudine somehow. I don't know for sure which. Niall seemed pretty put off when we realized that it was possible that this could all have been just Claudine."

"But Claudine has passed. She is doing this from death?"

"That's what I was thinking. I was thinking maybe she's my guardian angel? She had once told me she was working up to angel status. But now that she's dead, maybe she got promoted?" We both laughed for a moment over my terminology. "But either way, if they know something, they aren't talking." Now we both frowned.

Eric then seemed to be weighing something heavy in his mind, and I lifted my head to look at him. "What?" I asked.

"I was thinking, from what you told me about things in this other timeline. Why do you want to go back?"

"You don't?" I asked, a little shocked.

"I don't have the memories that you do. We cannot be certain that I am from that timeline as you are."

I was a little irritated now, and I made sure Eric felt it. "Well I am certain. And even if we know what's coming here, and we could change events so that we end up ahead, it's still not home. Jason here isn't really my brother Jason. He's some other Sookie's Jason. The Gran here who's buried out in the cemetery by my house, she's some other Sookie's Gran, not mine. And sure, things may be a little better here, but you know what, this still isn't really home for us. And whatever we're facing back in our real home, we have to face it."

I sat up in bed now, fully aware that I was rambling. I turned so that I was facing Eric. "You're a Viking." He raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you back down?" The corners of his mouth started to curve up. "You're just going to let Niall or Claudine, or both of them, take you right out of the middle of a fight?" My voice was steadily raising, trying to get the fire that I knew was in his belly to flair up.

"Never." he said, and I could tell he was serious, but he still laughed a little, but tried to hold it in.

"Good." I patted his abdomen a few times. "Now, help me figure this out darn it." Eric reached out and grabbed my arm, and pulled me back next to him.

"Alright. So I agree with you. This may be better, but it's not right." Something in him settled. "And I don't run."

Eric pulled out his laptop and worked on a few things while I took a little snooze. When I woke back up, Eric was rubbing my stomach like he liked to do. He wasn't in down time, and he was staring at me, but I could see in his eyes that he was far away then.

"What time is it?" I asked, and I saw his eyes refocus on me.

"Nearly four."

"What were you thinking about?"

"That I had a good time working with you tonight."

"You should come back and do it again." I suggested.

He paused, and I could tell he was thinking of how to appropriately word his next comment. "You could always come to Fangtasia. We could work together there too." He wouldn't actually tell me to quit. He knew I'd fight if he tried to tell me what to do.

"You know, these last two nights, I've told Sam that I needed to talk to him, and each time, something gets in the way." He waited silently for me to continue. "I was going to tell him that I wanted to quit. I want to at least give him my two weeks notice. I can stay until we leave for Rhodes, and then after that, I'm not going back to work there." I could tell he was on the edge of his seat, metaphorically that is. "But now that he's shot… I really can't just leave him until I'm sure he's all better. Broken legs take more than two weeks to heal. Hopefully within the next month, maybe they can put him in a walking cast."

Irritation was practically seeping from Eric's pores. I held back my smile. "The Shifter is a capable business owner. I'm sure he would manage without you." he said as level as he could.

"Oh, I know he is, but I really wouldn't be a good friend if I just left him in this situation. And if I left, I would rather go do something I really want to do. Something different. Waitresing isn't so horrible, and it pays the bills, but it's not what I want to do the rest of my life."

"What would you do?"

"I don't know. Maybe work for the local library."

"The library?"

"Sure, what's wrong with that? It's quiet. It would be easy for me to block out the patrons if I didn't have to deal with them talking too. And I love reading…" I started, but the corners of my mouth pulled up when I saw the utter frustration on Eric's face. What I didn't expect was him to pull me under him. I screamed a little and laughed because he had tickled my side in the process.

"You should come to Fangtasia." he said, and dipped his head to my neck, gently kissing his way up. "You wouldn't have to waitress." he said as he paused for a moment just at my jaw line. Now he moved back down my neck. "I could find any job for you there you wanted." He moved over to my ear now and I moaned a little. "We could be together, every night." He nibbled a little, and moved his pelvis in to mine in a very suggestive manner.

His right hand slid down my side now, and found the edge of my pajama bottoms. He slipped his hand in, and under my panties and started to rub his hand over me very gently, letting his fingers dip just inside my folds. I bucked my hips a little.

"You like that?" he growled in to my ear. I nodded and moaned a little that I did. "You want me to continue?"

"Yes." I let out in a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. He dipped a finger in me, and circled my nub with his thumb. He was back to kissing along my neck. He reached the collar of my night shirt and quickly removed it so that I was now completely naked. Now he started working his way down my chest until he reached my breasts. It had been nearly two days since we had had sex, and I was on the edge already. He was moving so slowly, it was torture.

"Will you come to work with me at Fangtasia?" he said as he moved from one nipple to the other.

My head shot up. "What?" I asked, and he quickly inserted another finger, and I threw my head back, arched my back, and practically screamed. I was so close now. This was unfair. I was still able to think clearly enough to see exactly what he was doing.

"Will you come work with me?" he said again and he stopped licking and sucking my nipple. He started to trail his kisses lower.

"No. I want to work at the library." I said in a sigh, and a little shaky. There was a shudder all over my body as his tongue flicked out to replace the movements of his thumb on my nub. "Oh God." I moaned. He put a hand on my stomach as my hips bucked again.

"Names Eric." he said, and he curved his fingers in me in just the right way and I was right on the edge, I could see it, I was leaning over it, about to let my body fall… and he stopped. "Say you'll come work with me." He moved his mouth to my thigh, and started to kiss and nuzzle his favorite spot I was panting and trying to move my hips to get any kind of friction that I could now. But his hand was still on my stomach, and effectively holding me in place.

"Eric. Please." I managed to get out.

"Say you'll come work for me."

"No. Library." It was all I could manage to vocalize.

"Say it." he said, and nipped my thigh at the same time he moved his fingers inside me a little.

"Fine." And with that, he curved his fingers again, rubbed me just the way that I needed him to, and as I started to fall, started to see stars, he bit, and I think I may have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing I remembered, Eric was back on top of me, hovering over me. "You play dirty." I smiled at him. I felt like I would slide off the bed in a puddle.

"If you didn't really want to come work with me, you would have held out. You're to stubborn to give in so easily." He was so smug right then.

And he was on to me. What I had planned on telling him before I decided to lead him on about the whole library bit was that I was going to put in my two weeks, and I was going to go to Rhodes, and when we got back, if we were still here after all that, I was planning on finding something to do at his bar. I didn't think I wanted to waitress, but I was sure I could do the books or something. Perhaps the merchandise counter?

"Maybe, but that was still sneaky of you." I reached down between us and took Eric's length in my hand. I stroked a few times and put him right where I wanted him. Without hesitation he pushed in, and I lifted my hips to meet him. I leaned up to his neck and started to kiss and bite, but not break skin. It was quickly bringing him right where I wanted him, and when I felt like he was getting close, I crossed my legs behind him and held as tightly as I could, effectively stopping from being able to move without hurting me. "What kind of pay are we talking about here?"

His eyes were locked on mine, and his nostrils flared. "What?"

"It's going to have to at least match what I made at Merlotte's."

"Yes, fine." he said, and I loosened my legs so that he could move again. "You play dirty." he smirked.

"Learned from the best." I said, and gasped as Eric thrust hard, but in a very, very, good way. Eric smirked and then started to kiss me. I think partly because he wanted to, and maybe a little to keep me from asking more questions.

He soon got right back to where he had been, and I clamped down again as I had before. "Sookie." he half whispered, half growled.

"I can have any job I want there?"

"Yes." he breathed heavily.

"Even your job?" I was doing my best to sound as cool and collected as possible.

"What?" he huffed, and I released him. He moved quickly now, and I could feel the pleasure and love and the tiniest bit of confusion and frustration rolling off him. I was getting close again my self, but I had one last thing to do.

I clamped my legs again. "I want my own office." I said, and just as Eric started to say yes, I released my legs, leaned back up, and bit into his neck. Eric thrust two more times, and as I released my mouth from his neck, he leaned down and bit mine as his orgasm released, which also brought mine.

Eric collapsed to my side and I turned to my side to face him. He turned to his side to face me, and threw his leg and arm over me. "You are devious, Lover." he said with a smile.

"Well, you get what you give." I wrapped an arm around him and started to run my fingers up and down his back. "I will come work with you though." I sighed. "At first, I will admit it was mostly so that we could stick together in this mess that we're in." Eric huffed when I said that. "But," I kissed him, "it is a good opportunity for us to spend time together that we don't normally get back home. And after tonight… I had a good time working with you."

"Well that's obvious. Why wouldn't you. I am fun."

I laughed a little when he said that. "Yes, you are."

"So then we have a deal? You work for the Shifter until Rhodes, and then you come work with me?"

"If you work with me on the nights that I close at Merlotte's until then, you've got a deal."

"Done."

"Good." I put my hand out in front of him. "Shake on it? Seal the deal?"

"Oh, I would rather seal this deal another way." And with that, Eric flipped me on top of him.

* * *

"Sam! It's Sookie!" I knocked on his trailer door again. "I'm coming in!" I turned the door knob and opened the door slowly. Sam looked up at me from the couch. He looked like he had been trying to get up. "How you feeling?" I asked as I shut the door behind me.

"Like I've been shot." he said as he leaned back on the couch.

I laughed a little. I thought to myself that I knew exactly how that felt. "I brought you some food. You hungry?" I made my way to his kitchen with the pasta casserole I had made for him when I drove back home earlier that day.

"Starving." he said, and turned off the television. I fixed him a plate and put the rest of the casserole in the fridge. "Thanks." Sam said, taking the plate from me and he got to work at devouring the meal.

"I think I've got everything covered at the bar for the next few days. Can you promise you'll stay here and rest for at least that long?" I sat on the other end of the couch.

"I'll be fine. And thanks, for taking care of the bar last night. I need to find a bartender…"

"I've got that covered. That's part of why I came here before I went to work." I was there in my uniform. "Eric tended bar last night. And he's going to a few more nights this week and next. On the nights he's not there, he's sending a replacement."

Sam's nostrils were flaring and I could see the anger building in his mind. He was thinking hard enough that I was able to pick out a few choice words my Gran would have stuck a bar of soap in my mouth had I said them out loud. "Damnit Sookie! I don't want to owe him any favors."

"Don't you raise your voice to me Sam Merlotte. And you won't. He's doing this as a favor to me. So get over it. I know you, and you're going to be back in there sooner than you should be, and I can't stop you. But if you do, do it in the daytime when the bar isn't as busy. Nights are covered."

"Is the replacement he sending a vamp too? You're gonna scare away all the customers."

"Actually, Eric was a pretty big draw, and you'll see that as soon as you take a look at the receipts from last night. Which brings up something else that I needed to talk to you about." Sam nodded for me to continue and he started eating again. "I know who shot you. I heard them last night." Sam stopped mid bite and looked at me. "Now, you can't exactly tell the law that. You know how Bud and Andy are. But I'm going to call them tonight, and tell them that I thought I saw someone lurking around. I'll make sure I tell them enough to lead them in the right direction."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." I didn't want to tell Sam the whole truth, but I knew he wouldn't doubt if I told him I had 'heard' the shooter. "Now, I've got one other think that I wanted to talk to you about, and I've actually been trying to tell you the last few days…"

"You're quitting." he said very plainly. I was taken aback for a moment. "It's not that hard to tell when someone want to put in their notice." He sat down his plate, still half full of food. "When's your last day?"

"Just under two weeks. That time I asked for off. I'll work up to then."

"Then what you going to do?"

"I'm going to work at Fangtasia." I said. There wasn't an easy way to sugar coat that. I didn't want to hurt Sam, but I couldn't really lie about it either.

"So now Eric's stealing my waitresses?" he laughed, but it was more sarcastic.

"No. I won't be witnessing."

"If you want a different job here Sookie, we can find something for you."

"It's not that Sam."

"You love him." he said, and I could feel the hurt in his voice. In the other timeline, Sam had a thing for me, and I'd be lying if I said there hadn't been a little something there at some point, but it wasn't meant to be.

"I do. But that's not entirely why. I've got my reasons. Maybe when I get back from Rhodes, I'll tell you about it." I glanced over at the clock. "But right now, I have to get to work. You need anything before I leave?" I asked as I rose from the couch. Sam shook his head that he didn't, and I made my way to the door. "I'll be back a little later to check on you. If you need anything, use your cell to call the bar, and I'll come right over."

"Thanks chere." he said, and I smiled at him as I shut the door.

* * *

The good thing about Eric tending bar was that he could hear pretty much everything going on, and if he didn't already have drinks waiting for me by the time I made my way to him behind the bar, then they were almost ready.

"You know, if you've got those drinks ready by the time I get here, I don't get to spend time with you here while I wait for them." Eric showed the faintest hint of a smile as he set the pitcher of beer destined for my brothers table on the counter. "You need a break?" I asked.

Eric opened his mouth to respond, which I was sure was going to be a no, but instead his eyes shot to the door and I turned to follow his gaze. The anger building in him was hard to suppress, but I did let it bubble up a little in me as I saw Bill walk through the door. Eric growled. Honest to goodness growled out loud. He sounded like a lion, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I wasn't the only one who could feel the change in the room at Bill's arrival, and I wasn't the only one who heard him growl. The few customers who had been sitting at the bar dispersed, except for Jane Bodehouse who was so gone at this point I don't think she would have noticed if the bar collapsed around her.

I turned back to Eric. "Not here, not now." I whispered. He was gripping the bar with his fists, and I heard wood splinter.

Bill sauntered over to the bar. "Sheriff." he nodded to Eric, "Sookie." he nodded to me, but kept his eyes on Eric.

"I told you, it's Miss Stackhouse." I practically spat at him. I walked fully behind the bar now and stood next to Eric. "What can we do for you?"

"I come bearing gifts." he said, snapping out of his little stare down with Eric. He reached into his jacket and I flinched when he brought his hand back out. He had an envelope in hand, and reached out to hand it to Eric, who still wasn't moving. After a moment, Bill set the envelope down on the bar and slid it towards Eric and I. "Your travel arrangements. I'm sure you will find everything is in order. If there are any problems, don't hesitate to contact me."

Eric and I still left the envelope on the bar, and Bill looked back down to it and then back up to Eric and me. I finally broke the silence. "Is there anything else?"

"True Blood?" he asked, taking a seat on a barstool.

"Nope."

"Red wi…"

"Nope."

The corner of Bill's mouth pulled up slightly and he stood again. "Well then, I guess I will be on my way." He turned towards the door, then turned back. "Miss Stackhouse, I know you believe that I was responsible for your attack, but I assure you, I did not." I heard the wood at the bar splinter a little more as Bill said those words, and quite honestly all's I could think about was punching him square in the face just then.

"Good night Mr. Compton." I said, and he turned and exited the bar. I looked around then and realized that all eyes were on us. I looked up to Eric, he still hadn't moved. "Let me go get Lafayette to take over at the bar for a minute." I whispered. Eric let his grip go, but his hands clenched at his sides.

Lafayette was behind the bar in a flash, having witnessed the incident, and from what I picked up from his mind, was not looking forward to having Eric lose it in the bar. Once Lafayette was out of the kitchen, Eric was out the back door, and I followed. I made it out the door just in time to see Eric slam his fist into a tree at the edge of the parking lot.

"I'm sorry." I said as I shut the door behind me. Eric shivered a bit, like he was trying to discard Bill's visit by shucking it off. It didn't work, because he turned to walk back to me and was just as angry as he had been inside.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about." He took my cheek in his hand and ran his thumb across my lips. I kissed it as he did.

"I know, but I'm just sorry in general. This really stinks." And it did. Because Bill was working on orders from the Queen, and I was his orders, so there could be no retaliation from Eric or I without getting Eric or possibly myself killed. I knew the Queen wanted me for my telepathy, but I wouldn't have put it past her to just have me killed if I became more trouble than I was worth to her. In this reality, I was finding that I couldn't trust anything I thought I knew except for Eric.

I took Eric's hand in mine and we did a few laps around the parking lot. I told him about the time that he had gone with me to the orgy, and about his outfit, and how very little it had left to the imagination. As I had hoped, it had lightened the mood, and we were both ready to head back in.

"I'll be back in a minute. Just going to go check on Sam." I released Eric's hand and gave him a quick kiss and a wink before he went back in. I turned to Sam's trailer and saw Sam now sitting on the little porch just outside the front door of the trailer.

"What's that about?" he asked.

"What are you doing out? You should be inside resting." I scolded. Sam laughed a little.

"Cabin fever."

"You've been there less than twenty-four hours." I laughed. I couldn't help it.

Sam smiled back, and then his face got deadly serious. "Duck!" hadn't even completely left his lips when I heard the gunshot and then felt a sting in my shoulder and a warm liquid running down my body.

I looked to my wound, and then leaned back against the wall. "Damn."

* * *

**Yeah yeah, not to much going on except for this last little bit here, but it was the bridge that I needed to get to the next chapter which will be posted on Thursday night...**

**and then I'm on hiatus until April 28th due to my MUCH NEEDED VACATION, where I won't have access to a computer.**

**So thanks EVERYONE for reviewing and whatnot, I really REALLY love reading all your thoughts and comments and it makes me so freaking happy each day. You guys keep me going.**

**Another note, if you're a Loser Like Me, and you love Glee, you should go read my real life besties story "Glee: The Revivial". It's pretty awesome, and you can find it under my favorites. There are SO FREAKING MANY Glee stories that I feel like good work is getting missed because there are so many to chose from over there.**

**So anywho, cross your fingers my order from Cafepress gets here by Friday next week so that I have my "Team Eric" shirt to wear in Forks, WA. (Yeah, that Forks, WA)**

**See ya'll Thursday!**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello Everyone! Happy Thursday!**

**First off, THANKS AS ALWAYS for all the lovely reviews. I can't tell you enough how happy it makes me when I read them. You all rock my socks right off my feet.**

**Second, this is going to be the last post until at least April 28th, where I will try to have something ready for all ya'll, but if not, then you can bet for sure that Sunday, May 1st, there will be an update, because there is ALWAYS an update on Sunday. (Except for Sunday the 17th and 24th because I'm on vacation, and out of state, and without a computer or laptop.)**

**So this story is officially on hiatus until the dates of possible next post which I just listed.**

**I hope you all love this chapter, and don't hate me when you get to the end.**

**Charlaine Harris own's the characters and whatnot. (She also owns them for chapter 16, where I forgot to mention that, or how awesome she is. 18 more days to Dead Reckoning!)**

**Snoogans!**

* * *

"Can you take out Bill Compton for me?" I asked my great grandfather. I was laying on the massage style table that he usually brought when he came for the monthly healings. This time, Claudine hadn't joined him, and I had a feeling it was because of what had happened with her in my kitchen the week before. Her comment had made me suspect that she was involved in Eric and me being in this alternate timeline.

Niall's hands were hovering about an inch over my chest and my skin was buzzing. "If it's what you wish." he replied.

"You'd really just kill him because I asked?"

"I don't think that my sweet great granddaughter would ask if it was not warranted." He looked from his hands to me and smiled before concentrating back on his work. "But may I ask why?"

"Bill's not exactly a bad guy in the other timeline. At least, not as bad as he is here. Here, he's out to get Eric and me. And in either reality, if it's between my life or Bill's, I'm choosing me."

"As you should." he smiled back.

We went on in silence for a bit after that and I watched him do his work. I thought about these healings. Even though the real me wasn't actually here for any of them but this one, or anything prior to Eric finding me on the road, I still had all the memories of my fictional life here, along with those of my real life back in the other timeline. My real timeline. I also wondered, when Eric finally got his memories back, where he would find his real self started here at. I suspected that it would be when he was driving down the road and saw me.

"I see the scar from your shooting is gone." Niall said, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Yeah. Thanks to Eric, it was gone pretty quickly. And I didn't have to go to the hospital either."

"He should have been watching you more closely knowing there was a shooter on the loose."

"It's not his fault. Plus, didn't you send Claudine to be my fairy godmother? She's supposed to stop this sort of thing from happening. She's dong a lousy job." I said, but I laughed about it. I didn't expect her to be watching me all the time. She had her own life too.

"I didn't send her to watch over you." Niall said, stopping what he was doing and looking over at me.

"What? She said…"

"I haven't been able to find anything that she could have used to bring you here. I have checked other sources as well, and there is nothing they know of that could have brought you here." Niall seemed to be saying it to himself almost, but he looked over at me.

"You don't believe me, do you." I sighed. I felt like I was taking ten steps back in getting home.

"Actually, I do. Claudine has not been herself. I can tell she is up to something. I love her very much and I trust her. I will see what I can get her to tell me. But if she has brought you here for some reason, I know she would have a good reason."

I realized then that Niall didn't know she was dead where I was from. I wondered with him if it made a difference. "In my timeline… she's dead." I practically whispered.

"How?" he asked just as quietly back.

"Protecting me from Breandan."

"And she went to the Summerland?" he asked, and it seemed like gears were clicking together in his mind. Puzzle pieces snapping in to place.

"That's what I was told."

"And you never saw her afterwards?" He was looking off in the distance, which was basically the far wall of the living room, but he seemed much further away than that.

"No." I sat up a little. "Could I have? Could she come visit me?"

Niall looked back down to me. "Yes. But it's rare, and takes a lot of magic to accomplish. I don't doubt that she would have required help with it."

"And she could have transported Eric and me here?"

"If she is in the Summerlands, yes. She would be able to accumulate the power there that this type of action would require." Niall looked back down at me, and then patted my cheek. "All done for today." He stepped back and I sat up at the abrupt ending to the session. They normally lasted longer than this.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked as his helper, servant, personal assistant, whatever you wanted to call him, came in to collect the table. Niall looked from me to David (the assistant I decided), and then back to me. I got the message. He wasn't going to say whatever it was he was going to say in front of David. "Could you give us just another minute?" I asked to David. He quickly looked at Niall, who after a moments hesitation nodded and David took the table, and went back outside.

"Claudine watched over you in your other timeline?"

"Yeah."

"Did she ever tell you what her aspiration was?"

"To be an angel."

"I suspect that she has gained that status now. But it's not an angel like you would associate with your religious upbringing. For our race, the ascent to angel means she is very powerful now. Again, this time shift would still require help from other angels, but it could be done."

"Why didn't you mention that before?"

"I didn't think it was a possibility. I didn't know she had passed on to the Summerlands in your timeline." He lowered his head. "And I am sorry that she is gone there. But it explains a lot now. And I will explain it to you once I have more information." Niall looked back up and then kissed me on the forehead. "I will see you soon I suspect. Goodbye my child." He smiled briefly at me and then walked out the front door.

* * *

"Good evening, Lover." Eric nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck and wrapped his arms around me. After I had my session with Niall, I headed back to Eric's place since I didn't have anything else to do. "You smell like fairy." he practically growled into my neck.

"I saw Niall today. He worked on me and we talked about some stuff, and about Claudine, and I'm positive he knows now how we got here, and how to get us back." I said, and Eric stopped the trail of kisses he was laying on my neck and looked up to me. He quirked an eyebrow. "He said he'd be seeing me soon. Apparently it has something to do with Claudine being dead. That could give her the power to be able to move us to this timeline."

I had Eric's full attention now. He sat up in bed and turned to face me. "So it's possible?"

"Well we know it's possible since we're here." I was a little irritated by Eric from that. It felt like he was only just now truly believing me. But at the same time I reminded myself, it was far fetched, and I might have a hard time really wrapping my head around it if it wasn't me going through it.

Eric picked up on that too. "I believed you before Sookie, it's just…"

"I know. It's weird. I don't blame you for having some doubt. But now that we know it's something truly possible, we need to get Claudine, and we need to get her to send us back home."

"Get Claudine?"

I turned on my side and stared dead into Eric's eyes. "I love her, I really do, but this isn't right, and what she did isn't right. And I want to go home."

* * *

"Thanks for coming. Have a great night." I said as I handed the middle aged couple standing in front of me their bag filled with souvenirs from Fangtasia. Of all the things to be shocked at in Fangtasia, they had been most shocked at the short, blonde, tan girl standing behind the gift shop counter. I laughed about what they thought of me working here and moved my gaze over to Eric on his throne. It was cute watching him sit up there all powerful and regal. He really did command a presence over this place, and I didn't blame any of the women, or the men, for wanting to throw themselves at him.

As long as it didn't go any further than that. But I knew it wouldn't. I knew he was devoted to me, just as I was to him.

"I wish he'd put you somewhere else here. Perhaps in the office. You're to much of a distraction." Pam said as she joined me behind the counter.

I smiled at her. "Anything good in Dear Abby today?"

"The importance of returning an RSVP request."

"Yes, that is important." I said and laughed a little. "And you love having me here. Don't pretend you don't think it's just a little funny watching him get all gooey over me."

Pam crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do find it amusing." and she smiled a little, but changed her tone for the next part. "But not all night. It's making me nauseous, and I'm a vampire. I don't get nauseous."

* * *

"Pam's right." Eric said out of no where from behind his desk. Fangtasia had been closed nearly an hour and like I had done that past few nights, I made myself comfortable on the couch and was reading a magazine.

"She usually is. But what specifically this time?"

I put down the magazine just in time to see Eric grinning wildly at his desk. "You are a distraction. You are good at your job, and the tourists especially seem to be drawn to you."

"It's because I'm tan." I said and Eric couldn't help hide his smile. "I could always just use my gift and pick out the unwelcome customers. I could hide out in a booth or something."

"You could come sit by my side."

"I don't want to be on display. And I don't think you would like a bunch of men and women ogling me."

Eric smiled again. "No, I don't think I would like that." He looked up at me. "You don't regret leaving the Shifters bar?"

"No. I wish that I could have finished out my two weeks…"

"I am glad he fired you."

"Hey, you watch it. I wasn't fired."

"You were fired."

"I'm calling it honorable discharge. And don't pretend that you care. You couldn't have been happier."

"Yes, I was happy. But I also understand that you loved that job. And you would have preferred to finish your time there." Eric said, squeezing me a little. "The Shifter did the right thing."

"It was just a little bullet wound. You healed me right up. I was back to rights two days later." Sam had felt just terrible that I had gotten shot. Eric felt even worse, because he had left me unguarded. But Eric had a little talk with Sam, and the next thing I knew, Sam was telling me that I didn't have to come back to finish out my two weeks. Eric sent over a waitress to cover my shifts. I was mad at first, because now I didn't just have Eric running my life, but Sam was butting in too. But neither of them would have any of it, and I gave up after a few days of trying to argue the issue.

Tonight was my second official shift at Fangtasia. I had spend the previous week here with him, but stayed either in his booth or back here in his office.

We went home without another word about my Fangtasia employment. But it was fine, because now my mind was elsewhere. I was thinking about the timeline here. The same events were happening, but they were happening in a different order. It was hard to predict what would happen when.

For one thing, Lafayette was still alive, and from what I was picking up from him, he wasn't going to those sex parties yet. It was one of the first things that I had done once I had regained my memories, I started listening for that since Lafayette was still alive. I would stop his death before it happened.

But Sam and I hadn't been shot until after Lafayette was gone. And I hadn't been shot outside of Merlotte's like I was. It was in the parking lot to the library. And it was because I smelled of two-natured. I was sure I smelled like Sam, but would it really have been enough for Sweetie to have picked up on?

And how did she find Merlotte's in the first place? Lafayette was still alive, so she wasn't working for the bar. It was all just so confusing. I had told Eric that we could turn this timeline to our favor, but that was seeming less likely to happen since nothing was happening as it had before. Not exactly.

Had I been prepared for the Rat's attack? Yes, but it should have happened a few nights later. Was I prepared for Sweetie to shoot me? Yes, but I was planning on calling Bud and Andy that night so that she would get caught and not have the chance to shoot anyone else. I also was planning on keeping my distance from the library… just in case.

Now we were going to be going to Rhodes in less than a week. I wasn't about to pick up any strange soda cans, that was for sure. And I wondered if Bill had already been working on his database? Would he have a booth to sell it in like he had before? I couldn't picture this ruthless, conniving version of Bill sitting behind a table all night selling his wares.

One thing I was kind of sad about was that I probably wouldn't be seeing Barry. We hadn't met in Rhodes, we'd met before that. And I was sure that he probably still thought there was no one else out there like him. I thought about calling him a few times, but decided against it. At least the Barry here could stay out of the supernatural world for now.

"Is the queen married to Arkansas?" I asked. Eric looked from his laptop to me. We were home now, and I was trying to sleep, but my mind was trying to sort out what it could about Rhodes, and all the possibilities that could happen while we were there.

"No." He turned to his side. "She marries Arkansas?"

"Yeah, but it ends badly." I shivered a little on how badly it had all ended. "Well, that gives us a leg up. Since she's not married, there isn't going to be a trial right? She's not on trial for anything?"

"No."

"What about a wedding? Anything about Mississippi and Indiana getting hitched?"

Eric smiled and I felt a little amazement coming from him. "Sookie, what happened in Rhodes the first time you were there?"

"Oh, lots of stuff it sounds like I won't have to deal with this time. But, there will be a bombing. And this time, we'll have a leg up on it, and we can stop it."

There was a knock at the front door then, and both Eric and I went silent and turned our heads towards the bedroom door to listen. The person knocked again. At least, I could tell it was a person, and they were a clear broadcaster. I recognized that broadcast. I started to get out of bed and Eric grabbed my arm, but I pulled away and grabbed my robe and slippers. Eric got out of bed too, and now blocked the doorway.

"How did she find you?" he asked.

"I don't know. But she's here, and I think she wants to help us."

"It could be a trap."

"It's not. I can tell it's not." I said, and tapped my temple with my right index finger. Eric moved from the door way and I practically sprinted to the front door. I stopped there though, and let my mind reach out to make sure there was no one else around and once I was sure the coast was clear, I opened the door.

"Amelia?"

"Sookie?" There were tears welling in her eyes. "It's you right? Like, you remember me?" I shook my head that I did and smiled. "Gosh it's good to see you." That took me aback. I reached out to her mind again. "Yes, it's me. Like, me, me. And stop peeking in my mind. You get that look on your face when you're concentrating on it." She giggled a little.

"I don't understand." I was a bit in shock.

"What, you think you're the only one who can time shift?" she laughed. She looked up to Eric. "May I?"

Eric nodded, and we stepped aside to let Amelia in, where I promptly hug-attacked her. "Oh Amelia, it's so good to see you. It's been to long. I've missed you."

"Missed you to girl."

We walked to the couch and Eric sat in his big chair while Amelia and I took over the couch. "So when did you get here? I mean, when do you remember getting here?"

"Well, looks like I got here just before the little fight scene with Hallow. But I didn't remember until last night. I was in Bon Temps to help Bill," she shivered when she said his name, "and I ran in to Tray."

"Oh honey, I'm sorry." I said, taking her hand. She teared up again, but held it back.

"Anyway, it hit me then. And I had to find you. I looked for you at your house, and then at Merlotte's, and everyone said the same thing, that you'd be with Eric." She looked to him and smiled. "So bing, bang, boom, here I am."

"How did you find my home?" Eric uttered from his chair.

"I'm a witch. I needed to find Sookie, so I did." Amelia shrugged her shoulders. "But I didn't just come to say hey and catch up." She squeezed my hand a little and we smiled at each other. "And I can't tell you how happy I am to see that you remember that we're not where we're supposed to be." She sighed. "The queen's going to have you and Eric killed."

"Ha." Eric laughed, and we both turned to him, and then back to each other.

"Well, I'm just saying what I heard, I'm not saying she can do it. Although, she's giving it her best effort. And it's costing her a lot of money that she doesn't really have since Katrina." Amelia motioned her head in the direction of Eric. "Is he…? I mean, does he…?"

"It's him, but he hasn't remembered yet." I glanced over at Eric and smiled. "So what's her plan?"

"It's something to do with your travel. You two aren't even going to get there. I don't know if it's on the plane, or on the car ride to the hotel, but neither of you are getting to the hotel. She's been using me to secure some special items, but not using me as her main magic source. She's brought in some really heavy hitters for that. I don't know the details, but I know the outline. Neither of you are going to make it to Rhodes."

"Yes, we are." Eric said to Amelia, and then turned to me. "And how do I know we can trust her information?"

"Sookie can tell you, I'm not lying, and I wouldn't betray her like that." Amelia kept her eyes locked on Eric and he turned back to her, then back to me.

"She's being truthful." I turned to Eric. "And she can be trusted."

"And you are sure this is not a spell that the witch is working to make you hear what she wants you to hear?"

"I'm sure of it. Because if she was glamoured or there was something else going on, I could tell."

"Fine, but I would prefer to keep any further details between Sookie and myself. You may be telling the truth now, but that would not stop Compton or Sophie-Anne from glamouring you later if they find out you've been here."

"I have to agree with Eric on that one." I said, turning back to my friend. "Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"Yeah, I can't stay much longer anyway. I cut my business with Bill short and told him that I needed some personal time here in Shreveport because of my father. Which is where I'm headed now, need to make sure Dad remembers seeing me." Amelia rose. "I had to make sure I saw you before you left, well, for obvious reasons, and this had to be done in person. I didn't want to risk the phone or email or carrier pigeon." Amelia and I both laughed.

Eric and I rose and walked Amelia to the front door and saw her on her way. Amelia and I hugged one final time, a great big hug, and then she headed off in to the night.

Eric shut the door and opened his mouth, but I put my fingers up to stop him. I put a finger over my lips to signal that I needed him to be quiet for a moment. I walked over to the couch and lifted the edge of the cushion and pulled out the bug that Amelia had left.

Eric looked like he was going to pop he was so angry. I tried to be as calm as I could, and was hoping that some of it would rub off on him for this next part. "Well, now that we know the Queen is planning to sabotage our travel arrangements, we should get a move on making others. Finding something still open is going to be a pain this close to the summit."

Eric eyeballed me for a moment and I motioned with my hands for him to say something. I was praying that he was catching on. He did, no surprise, and pushed the anger that was left in him down so that he sounded level. "I'll have Bobby get on arrangements immediately."

"Honey, could you get me a glass of water? I'm simply parched." I said, and Eric's eyebrow shot up. I mouthed 'water' to him, and he went to the kitchen, and returned a moment later with the glass. He handed it to me, and I said "Thank you… oops!" as I dropped the little bug into the glass and watched it sink to the bottom. Eric took the glass and poured the water down the sink in the kitchen.

He joined me back in the living room and stood over me as I sat on the couch. "Explain." he said quite dryly.

"She wasn't lying that she remembered. But what they didn't count on was that she can't be glamoured in her own home thanks to some protection spells. Silly Bill trying to do it in her own home. He should have known better. But they do know everything about me now, and about the alternate timelines. Your office is bugged."

Eric smashed his fist into the coffee table.

I ignored his little outburst and ducked at the splinters of wood that flew out, and continued. "She couldn't just say she wasn't going to do what they asked. But she wasn't about to turn us in. She told me that she was placing the bug, and she also told me that there's nothing wrong with our travel arrangements that Bill set up. I guess that was just to throw us off." I thought for a moment. "So we really had better make other arrangements so that they don't know we're on to them."

Eric knelt in front of me and took my hands. "This won't be their only trick. And I am more than a little confused with Sophie-Anne's actions over these last few weeks. Are you sure that you still want to go?"

"What's our other option?" I asked, but the look in Eric's eyes told me his answer to that. "We'll go, and we'll beat them at their own game."

"You never cease to surprise me Sookie Stackhouse." Eric grinned, and now there was lust oozing from every pore. Figures this would turn him on.

"Do you wonder what they must think about me shifting timelines?"

"They think that you are serious enough about it that they had Amelia play along."

"Oh she wasn't playing. She really does remember, like I do." Eric raised an eyebrow. "Which scares the hell out of me. Because whatever we were involved in before we came here, she was in on it. And I haven't seen her since she moved back to New Orleans… after Trey died."

"Whatever it was, she is a good friend that she came to help you."

"Yeah, she is a good friend. And it must have been bad if we needed her help, because I wouldn't purposely drag her into any Supe crap unless it was bad."

The truth was, I would have only asked her if it was life or death. And that scared the hell out of me, but I tried to hid it. No reason to worry Eric over something he didn't remember, and neither of us could do anything about. Which means that whatever reason Claudine pulled us here for was most likely dire.

I wondered if this was the alternative to dying in the other time line? Get a second chance here or die there. That made me rethink my wish to go home for a moment. Because I didn't want to die, but this was turning out to be no better, aside from Eric and myself, than our real timeline.

* * *

The next night at Fangtasia I didn't man, or woman, the gift shop counter. Instead, Eric and I 'played' around in his office. Which really consisted of us looking for the bug. After about an hour with no luck, I remembered something that I had seen on a show on the Discovery Channel. I made my way out of his office and over to Pam at the front door. Eric followed shortly after.

"Can you come outside with me for a moment?" I whispered. Eric nodded to Pam, and soon the three of us were in the middle of the customer parking lot. "There's a machine we can get, a little device, that will detect a radio signal. It can help us find the bug since we've had no luck so far."

"Where can this be procured?" Eric asked. Pam was just standing there with her arms crossed. I had a feeling she knew where this conversation was going.

"I would think that any spy shop would have one. They have one here in Shreveport? Or maybe a Radio Shack?" I asked the both of them.

"Give me your credit card." Pam said to Eric, extending her hand. Eric simply scowled at her. "You're going to want me to go get it. So I'm putting it on your card."

I elbowed Eric and Pam laughed. Eric reached in his walled and handed Pam a card. "Here. And only charge the tool. We need to find the bug. We don't have time for you to be out shopping tonight as well."

"Of course. Since when do I charge anything of mine to your account." Pam was so sarcastic, Sheldon Cooper could have picked up on it.

I told Pam what she would be looking for wherever she went, and then Eric and I went back inside as she left. Eric took his seat on his throne and I went back to the gift shop counter. It was a Wednesday night so the bar was fairly slow, and I didn't do much business at all. In fact, I sold one shirt the whole night. I needed to find something else to do here or I was going to go bonkers.

"Here." Pam said, shoving the bag from Radio Shack at me. I practically jumped out of my skin.

"God almighty! Did you have to sneak up on me?"

"Yes. Is this what you were looking for?" She dumped the bag out on the counter.

"Pam!" I exclaimed as quietly as I could. "Not in front of everyone." Eric saw that Pam had returned and was making his way over to us.

She laughed a little, which was always just the tiniest bit disturbing. "Sookie, I doubt any of the patrons care or know what that's for."

I put the device back in the bag and the three of us headed back to Eric's office. They gave me the device which searched for radio signals, and Pam and Eric had a seat and carried on a casual conversation about the books. I made my way slowly around the office searching for the bug, and didn't come up on anything until I had almost given up. I froze in my place and pointed up at the air vent that was above the door to Eric's office.

Eric and Pam nodded, and then brought their conversation to a close. Eric rose from his desk and came to my side. I felt gratitude from him and I smiled as he bent down to kiss me.

"Get a room." Pam said and I laughed a little into Eric's mouth as he kissed me.

"This is my room." Eric replied slyly, and bent back down to give me one last kiss on the cheek before he reached up and pulled off the vent cover. I guess he wasn't as worried about being subtle as I was the night before with the bug Amelia planted. He reached around inside the vent and then I could tell he found his target. He removed his hand and there was a small bug, just like the one from last night. Eric held it between his fingers and Pam came to his side to inspect it with him. We were all silent as we stood there looking at the device, and finally Eric's anger couldn't be held back, and I heard the pop as his fangs extended, and then he smashed the thing between his fingers.

After the bar closed, Eric had Pam stick around, and we all met back in his office. "So now what?" I asked.

"Like you said last night, we beat them at their own game." Eric said, and Pam turned to me and smiled a little. One for a second though, because it was a genuine smile from her, and that was something that I had to earn from her again.

"But we need to figure out what their game is first. We can't win the game if we don't know what the rules are." I said.

"I like her, Eric. You're very sure you're attached to her? You won't share?" Pam asked. I laughed while Eric only growled a little. But Pam got the idea. "We know that Sophie-Anne is struggling financially now from what your friend Amelia said. What else was going on with her before Sookie?"

"Well, she did try to get her hands on me via Bill, but that didn't work out. She did kinda go a little broke after Katrina, and one of the things that she used me for in Rhodes was to help weed out the trustworthy prospective business associates from the bad ones."

"Anything else?" Eric asked.

"Well, like I told you last night, she married Arkansas. But he died not long after, and in Rhodes, there was going to be a trial to determine the fate of Arkansas and whatever else she would have inherited from it."

"But why? If they were married and the King of Arkansas met the final death, that state and it's wealth, or lack of in Arkansas case, would go to Sophie-Anne." Pam said.

"Right, but there was a dispute over whether or not Sophie-Anne was responsible for his death or not. The King's second was contesting that. She wanted to see Sophie-Anne pay for killing her King."

"Did the Queen really kill him?" Eric asked.

"No, and I knew that for a fact. But it was ruled in Sophie's favor anyway in Rhodes. And she's not even married to him here, so I don't think that part matters." I said. I yawned, I couldn't help it, and leaned back on the couch.

"So then what do we know? We know that she is having financial trouble." Pam said.

"And we know that she wants Sookie and myself dead." Eric followed. "But why would our deaths benefit her? I have been nothing if not loyal to her, aside from bonding with Sookie."

"Perhaps losing out on gaining Sookie as part of her regime was the end to whatever she was originally planning." Pam said.

"Maybe it's just Eric she wants out of the way so that she can get to me." I whispered, a little sorrowful.

"No, I think it's both of us." Eric said, sounding grim.

"But why would she want you both dead if her plan was originally to get Sookie?" Pam asked.

"Perhaps her plan changed. Perhaps whatever plan she has now calls for us both to be out of the way." Eric said, and our eyes met. "Is there anything in the other timeline going on where both of our deaths would benefit someone?"

"Victor." I growled. I had never heard my voice sound like that before, and Pam and Eric both turned to me a little wide eyed. "Victor Madden."

"Isn't he the second to Felipe De Castro?" Pam asked, turning back to Eric. Eric nodded.

"It makes sense. In the other timeline, Felipe took over Louisiana and Arkansas when Sophie-Anne was injured in Rhodes. Her states were suffering financially still from Katrina, and she had lost both her legs, and Andre." I shivered to myself thinking of how Andre had met his final death at he hands of an injured Quinn. "She was an easy target for Felipe, and he took over the states in a matter of hours." I was breathing heavy. "But she's not injured like she was before, and I doubt that Louisiana is more than a blip on his radar right now… unless someone is urging him to take action."

"You think perhaps that Felipe is wanting to strike some kind of a deal with Sophie-Anne? But that's across the boarders Eric…?" Pam turned to Eric, and he merely shrugged his shoulders.

I leaned forward on the couch and put my head in my hands as I spoke down at the floor. "It's Victor, I know it is. And he wants us dead. And the only reason he would want that is if he's here from the other timeline… and he remembers."

* * *

**You know I had to end with a little cliff hanger right? I hope it was a cliff hanger. That's how it seemed to me.**

**My "Team Eric" shirt that I'm gonna wear in Forks, WA came, so I'm WAY excited to post that picture here on my profile.**

**Also, if you're a Gleek like me, and you haven't been over to read my real life besties Glee fan fic, you should, cause it's awesome. He's going to be on vacation with me, and I don't think he's updating prior to our leaving, but you can still go check out it's awesomeness. It can be found on my profile under my favorite stories, it's called "Glee: The Revival".**

**Have a WONDERFUL two weeks everyone! See ya'll again in two weeks or so!**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Guess who's back! **

**OMG, thanks for all the AWESOME reviews, as usual. You guys rock!**

**Well, here's my post vacation chapter!**

**I had a hard time getting back into home mode, so this took a long time to write.**

**A/N on my vacation at the end here.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Hope ya'll enjoy and happy Sunday!**

**Snoogans!**

* * *

Eric and I were silent on the way home. I could feel the anger and turmoil coming from him, and I'm sure that he could feel the same coming from me, with maybe just a hint of fear on my part. His Queen was betraying him to keep herself out of debt, and to keep her crown as it were. He had been quite loyal to her before, and I was sure he had been here too. And now that was down the drain. I knew that above all things, he valued his life, just as I valued mine, and if that meant betraying Sophie-Anne, turning on her, to keep himself and me alive… well then, that's just what he was going to do, and I was sure of that, because I would do the same.

"So now what?" I asked as we walked in the kitchen door from the garage.

"I don't know." he said through clenched teeth.

"Yes you do." I said through my teeth. He snapped around to look at me. "You're going to do what you can to stay alive, or undead, or immortal…" I was rambling. I waived my hands in the air as if to clear my thoughts. "You know what I mean." I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist and he kept his arms down at his sides. "Just like I would. Just like I'm going to."

"We must be sure this is what she has planned."

"I don't think that I could be any surer. But if it's proof that you need, we just need to find out that Victor or Felipe are at the Summit . If they aren't already here in Louisiana ."

"I can find that out. I know someone in Vegas who can tell me if Felipe or Victor will be there, or if they are here in the state."

"Quinn?" I asked. Eric looked down at me for the first time and quirked an eyebrow.

"You know of the were-tiger?"

"In that other timeline, I dated him for a little bit. So yeah, I know him."

Eric chuckled a little, which wasn't exactly the reaction I had expected. "He is my contact. He owes me a favor after the mess from the Shreveport pack choosing a new pack master."

Now I raised an eyebrow to him. "That already happen? Did Alcide's dad win here?"

"No. But it was found that the man challenging him had cheated. I lent some… backup, at the request of Quinn to help resolve that issue. So now he is in debt to me. And I just added this to the tally for Alcide and what he owes me for his father's debts." Eric finally wrapped his arms around me. He was calmer now than he had been since we got home. "You seem to have had many adventures Sookie." he smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"To many. But I can't worry about that now. Now, we have to figure out where Victor and Felipe are, and if they are here, or they're going to the Summit , we have to figure something out, and fast. We leave in a few days."

Eric nodded, kissed my head one last time before letting me go and heading off to his office. I figured it was to call Quinn. I wanted to follow him, but my human needs got the best of me then and I heard my stomach growl. I turned to the fridge and took some fruit that I had cut up earlier that night before work. I stood at the counter and started to pick at the pieces of fruit.

I was sure that it was Victor behind this. But if that was the case, that raised a whole new set of questions, and threw off what I thought I knew. I had thought that perhaps Claudine had brought Eric, Amelia, and me here to keep us safe. But if that was the case, why did she bring Victor? Enemy and threat number one for us. If this was her idea of keeping us safe, she was way off base. I felt like I was in as much danger here now as I had been in my real timeline.

"What are you thinking about?" Eric whispered in my ear. I had felt him coming, his proximity to me getting closer, which was always a little strange and comforting.

"Thinking about this crap storm that we're in the middle of." I took another bite of fruit. "What you find out from Quinn?"

"That he's accompanying Felipe and Victor to the Summit . His company is going to be hosting some of the events taking place, including a marriage." Eric seemed almost giddy, which I didn't expect.

I sighed. "Felipe and Sophie-Anne?" Eric came to stand in front of me, completely invading my personal space like he usually did, but I didn't mind. "So then that means that Victor does remember. Otherwise, why would they even care right now."

"It's possible that Felipe was aware of her financial issues without Victor being here from the other time line to tip him off. I'm sure her money problems aren't a secret since Katrina. And Felipe is king of a wealthy state. He is in quite the position to aid her financially if it gains him more territory."

"But wouldn't that be crossing some kind of line? I mean, you once told me about how the country is split in to four pieces. Can he cross marry like that?"

"Yes, although I don't think it has been done before, I don't think that there is any specific guideline that says it can't be done." Eric picked me up Gone With The Wind style then, and I giggled as he headed to the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he tossed me gently on to the bed. "There's so much we have to talk about. We need to figure out what we are going to do."

It was no use though. Eric was naked in a matter of seconds, and now he was making quick work of undressing me. I didn't stop him. Once we were both naked, he pulled down the covers so that we could crawl under, and to my surprise, he simply pulled me to him. I hadn't even bothered to look at the clock until then, and I realized that it was nearly dawn. We had stayed talking at the bar for so long after closing, but I hadn't realized it had been that long. Don't get me wrong though, there was plenty of time for that if we needed, but Eric seemed somber now, and back to his deep thought.

I turned to my side so that I was facing him, and I wrapped my body around his as best as I could, wrapping an arm across his chest and a leg across his leg. "She betrayed you first." I whispered. Eric looked down at me and gave me a little squeeze. "Not that you should be seeking revenge, but her betrayal is trying to have you and me killed."

Eric didn't say anything back, but I knew that it gave him at least a little resolve in whatever it was he was thinking.

* * *

"It's just for a few hours. I'll be back before midnight." I grabbed for my keys and Eric stopped me by grabbing them first. I pouted a little and stuck my hand out for him to put the keys there.

"You are my employee now. If the shifter wasn't prepared to fire you, he should have let you finish your time there."

"It's honorable discharge, not fired. And he did have someone to replace me, but they quit, and he can't get a replacement until tomorrow. I'm only covering the dinner shift and then I can go. He promised."

Eric took a deep breath, (which was completely unnecessary) and his nostrils flared and I was sure he was going to tell me I couldn't go, but he knew better. He knew I didn't respond well to orders like that, and he also had no good reason for me not to go. He finally put the keys in my hand and I smiled up to him. "Thank you. I'll be there well before midnight."

"I will have Pam escort you down there. I don't think it's safe for you to go alone." I opened my mouth to protest because I didn't need a baby sitter, but when I looked back to Eric's eyes, they were on fire, and I decided that since I won the Merlotte's battle, he could have this one.

"Fine. But she needs to hurry if I'm going to get there on time. Is she going to hang out the entire time I'm working?"

"Yes. Those will be her orders."

* * *

"Can I get you anything Pam?" Pam was busy making eyes at Holly and I seemed to have snapped her out of it for a moment. She looked up at me with a bit of annoyance. "Sorry to interrupt." I said, and raised my hands up as if to surrender immediately.

"Who's that delectable woman over there?" she asked, motioning back to Holly.

"Holly? She's taken… at least, she will be. I'm not sure if she's dating Hoyt here or not…"

"Fine. Anyone else here you would recommend?"

"No. You aren't feeding on any of the patrons here Pam. We've got True Blood if you're hungry." I was whispering now. No need to have someone overhear this conversation.

Pam sat there with irritation written all over her face for a few moments until she finally conceded to me bring her a bottle of True Blood. I deposited it at her table, and then went about my work. The dinner shift was completely uneventful, but busy. There were a few regulars there who knew that I wasn't working for the bar anymore, and were surprised and even a little happy to see me. I may have been 'Crazy Sookie', but I knew how to do my job, and the new girl who Sam had replaced me with, had exaggerated her witnessing experience, so I was told most were happy to see her gone.

Once it was slow, Sam gave me the go ahead to leave, and I didn't hesitate to gather my things from the deep drawer in his office and head back to the floor to meet Pam. I stopped to give Sam a hug along the way, which was a little harder and urgent and heart felt than I think he had been expecting. He pulled away from me and saw the tears that I was holding back.

"I really liked working for you Sam. And I'm glad that we're friends."

"What's wrong chere?" he whispered.

"Nothing I can't handle." I smiled. I gave him one last quick hug and headed over to Pam who had seen that I was ready to leave, and was quite impatient now that I seemed to be stalling her. "Lets go." I said as I passed Pam, and she followed me out the entrance and over to her car.

"You should go home and shower first. You smell like dog." Pam turned to me and smiled.

"Eyes on the road Pam." I smiled. "And you're right. Eric's already mad enough I went, no reason to piss him off even more."

Pam smiled at that too. "You really care for my master." It was more of a statement than a question, but I answered her anyway.

"I love him."

"He's never acted this way over a breather before."

"I know."

"He's in danger now because of you."

I looked over at Pam, and a tear escaped me I didn't know I had. Her comment shook me. "I know. And if I could change that, I would. But I'm not going to just surrender. I'm not going to let myself get killed to save him. He wouldn't want that. And I would never expect him to sacrifice himself for me either."

Pam nodded, and then glanced in the rear view mirror. "We're being followed. I thought I should let you know."

"What? Since when?" I whispered for some unknown reason. I turned around a bit in my seat to see the car behind us. Not that I could see much, since it was dark. But it did help me focus on the car a little better, and I concentrated as hard as I could. I hadn't done this from a moving vehicle before. "Vampires. Two." I said after a few minutes, and Pam nodded, and pulled the car over, and this situation seemed all to familiar.

"There's a silver knife in the glove box. Take it, and stay here." And with that, Pam got out of the car. At least this time it wasn't raining. I took the knife like she said, but I didn't stay in the car.

"How can we help you?" I heard Pam as she stopped just at the back of her car, careful not to stand behind it. The vampires that were in the car opened their doors and stepped out in unison. It wasn't the two who had attacked us before. I didn't recognize these two, and from the way Pam was examining them, I didn't think she did either.

"Miss Ravenscroft. Miss Stackhouse." the passenger said as he approached.

"It's Mrs. Northman." I snapped back. It was two male vampires. The passenger was tall and thin. He had short blonde hair and was wearing a suit. In the darkness, that was all I could really see of him. The driver was also in a suit, and he was shorter than his companion. He was actually about as tall as I was, but he was a little husky, with shoulder length dark hair.

The driver stepped closer to Pam, and the passenger stepped closer to me. Pam glanced over to me and smiled. I assumed it was because I had disobeyed her and gotten out of the car. I was glad that I had slipped the knife in the waist of my pants behind me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Well Mrs Northman, that's quite simple. We're here to kill you." the passenger said. He seemed to be the talker of the two. The driver simply smiled at his companions comment.

"I'd like to see you try." Pam said as she crouched into an attack position. I tried to mirror it because she looked intimidating as hell, and I knew that I didn't, regardless of how much I tried, because I was human, and they were vampires, so what threat was I to them?

They both took Pam's position as the go ahead to attack, and the driver lunged at Pam while the passenger lunged at me. But what he wasn't expecting was me pulling the knife from behind me, or sticking it straight out in front of me as he impaled himself on it. Now that he was so close to me, I could see that his eyes were a emerald shade of green. We stared right at each other, and the look of shock on his face probably mirrored mine. My body tensed as I waited for him to attack me, since I knew the knife would only have hurt him, but not enough to the point that he couldn't attack me back. I was to scared to pull the knife out, and I was to stunned to move though.

The passenger finally came out of whatever trance the knife in his gut had put him in and his emerald eyes turned to a forest green and seemed to be blazing. "Bitch." he growled at me, and grabbed my hair. I kept my hand on the knife as he lifted me off the ground by my pony tail, and I felt like my scalp was going to get ripped right off my head. I kicked my feet around, and with my free hand, I reached up to grab at his hand on my hair. With my other, still gripping the knife, I tried to jab it into him further. I could smell his skin burning, and I sawed a little then with the knife in his skin. It was to much for him then, and he let me drop to the ground. I had such a strong handle on the knife, that when he let me go, and I fell to the ground, losing my footing, and falling all the way down, I took the knife with me.

"I'm going to fucking enjoy this." he said as he hovered over me. He had one hand now on the area that I had initially stabbed him, and he was leaning over me now, and he spit on my face. "Stupid human bitch." He raised his foot and I could tell he was going to stomp on my face. As his leg came down, I rolled out of the way at the last second.

I was thankful then that we had pulled over in a wooded area along the highway, because there was a piece of branch within eyesight on the ground. I held on to the knife, and picked up the wood with my other hand. Just as I did that, I felt him coming up on me again, but he never reached me. I looked up to find Pam straddling his back, her legs wrapped around his waist. I could see blood on her face, and wondered if it was hers or the drivers.

"Sookie!" she yelled, and it jolted me back to the present. "Do it!" she screamed. The passenger was trying to flip her over him but she had a tight grip around his neck, and seemed to be on the verge of ripping it out. But I did as she said, and I stood up with the branch in hand, and ran over to them. The passenger clawed for me, but I managed to avoid his grasp. Pam bit in to him and his attention diverted from me back to her, and that's when I made my move. I dropped the knife and with both hands, jammed one end of the branch into his chest as hard as I could. He let out a guttural roar and Pam got off his back as he sank to his knees. He didn't say another word. He just spewed blood and fell face down, breaking the branch in half where it protruded from his body.

I looked up to Pam, my eyes wide and my body still with shock. She had the biggest grin that I had ever seen on her, and she came over to me.

"Are you injured?" she asked. I looked at her like she was speaking French. She put her hands on my shoulders and started to look me over. I shook myself out of it and shook my head no. I figured I only had a few scraped from rolling around on the wooded ground, and I was sure my head was going to be killing me the next day thanks to being lifted by my pony tail. "You did well, Sookie." she beamed at me.

"Thanks." I whispered. I looked over to the passenger on the ground, and he was already flaking away. I looked around for the driver, and found that his head had been detached, and was almost completely ashed away, and his body was flaking as well.

"We need to move their car to the woods." Pam said, and she got in the driver seat of our attackers car. I watched as she maneuvered it into the woods and soon the car disappeared. That's when I became aware of a strange sound and I focused on it. It was coming from Pam's car. I walked over to the passenger door, which I had left open, and the strange sound was coming from my purse.

It clicked in my mind suddenly that it was my cell phone. I laughed when I realized what song it was, and I looked at the caller ID to see it was Eric. It never failed to make me laugh when he messed with my cell phone. I flipped it open and instantly said "We're fine."

"What happened?" he was still on red alert, and I realized that I could feel his anger and worry and relief at hearing my voice.

"Someone was following us. They attacked, but we won." I said, and the phone was pulled from my hands.

"Sookie fought bravely." Pam said into the phone. I started to protest, but she put up a finger and walked away from me to continue her conversation with Eric. I decided to check on the bodies and found that driver vamp was nearly gone, and I doubted that anyone would find his body before he was completely disintegrated. Passenger vamp was next, and I figured the same thing would be true for his body. It was a more than half way gone now, and all it would take would be a slight breeze and his ashes would be scattered.

Pam came back then and handed me the phone. "Don't come to the bar. Go home, and wait for me there. Pam will stay with you."

"Alright."

"I am proud of you." he said and I could hear his smile over the phone, and feel his pride running through me.

"Just doing what I have to do to stay alive."

* * *

"Do you want to take a shower first?" I asked Pam. She had been a bit more ruthless than I had, and thus, was splattered with blood, pretty much everywhere. "Let me get you a change of clothes."

"Thank you." She said, and headed to the bathroom. I cleaned up my face, arms and hands as best as I could, and made myself a small snack while Pam cleaned up. I showered after she did, and since it was just me and her, kind of like a girls night now, and I had a feeling I wouldn't be going anywhere else tonight, I got in my pajamas, which consisted of sweats and a Fangtasia shirt. I offered Pam more bottled blood, and then made her sit in the living room with me and watch a movie.

I popped in 'Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog' because I needed a good laugh. Pam settled next to me on the couch, and not ten minutes into the movie, I decided I was ready to ask Pam about what happened tonight.

"Who were they?" I said as I turned to her.

"I didn't recognize them."

"Was there anything in their car that hinted as to who sent them?"

"No, and I searched it thoroughly. But I think we both know it was either the Queen or this Victor you told us about."

"Yeah, I figure it was one of them, but I was hoping we would know for sure."

"Does it really matter?" she asked.

"I guess not." I sighed. We went back to watching the movie, although I suspected that Pam went into down time. I didn't make it to the end of the movie, and fell asleep before the second act was over.

* * *

"Lover." I heard Eric whispering in my ear. I blinked a few times before my eyes opened, and I looked up lazily to see Eric hovering over me. I was still on the couch, and at some point, I had laid down in my sleep, and was resting my head on Pam's lap. I bolted upright and rubbed my eyes.

"I'm sorry Pam. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. Literally."

Pam smiled wickedly. "It was no problem." Eric gave her a mean look and the smile faded from Pam's lips. "Well, since you're home, I suppose I should leave." She rose from the couch, and walked towards the door, but turned to me before she opened it. "Sookie, it was a pleasure this evening having you fight at my side. I hope to do that again." And with that, she was out the door.

"Well I certainly don't want to get in another fight any time soon." I said and rubbed my scalp. It was really starting to hurt now. Eric let out a little laugh at my statement and then kissed the top of my head. I winced a little. "I got lifted up by my pony tail."

"It's a good thing for those vampires that you and Pam killed them." he growled.

I smiled at him, but I realized then just how sore my scalp and head really was. "I think it was Victor. He sent two of his lackeys after Pam and me in the other timeline. Although, Pam recognized them there. But that was probably because Victor had already been around."

"When I meet this Victor, I think I will rip his head off on sight."

"I would love it if you did. It could be your wedding present to me."

"Wedding present?" he smiled to me.

"You never did get me one in the other timeline. But then again, you also never asked my permission to marry me either. So I don't know why I was expecting a gift." I chuckled along with Eric.

"I'm sorry." he said as he joined me in bed.

"For?"

"Forcing you to pledge with me. Tricking you into it."

I turned on my side and placed my hand on his cheek. "But if you had warned me, asked me, pleaded with me, I was to stubborn then to have accepted your help on that. If you hadn't done it the way that you did, I would have ended up in Vegas or on the run. Was I mad at the time? Yes. Am I mad now? Not even a little. I'm glad you did it. You saved me from having to do something I really didn't want to do." I kissed him and then cuddled up next to him.

* * *

The next night, it was time to head to the Summit. I had slept the rest of the night so that I could get up before sunset to pack and take care of things we had to do before we left. We would be traveling by private jet that night, getting to the Summit later than we were supposed to, but what did it matter if we were fashionably late? Our kingdom wanted us dead. Felipe's kingdom wanted us dead thanks to Victor. What would it matter if we were a little late?

By the time that Eric got up, I had us both packed, I had showered and eaten, and was nearly dressed. I had moved the bags close to the front door so that when the shuttle came from the airport, our things would be ready to go.

Eric moved up behind me in the kitchen as I went through food items that would probably go bad before we got back. "What are you doing?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind me. He rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Cleaning out the fridge."

"I can think of something better that you could be doing." he said, and nuzzled his face in my neck. I giggled a little because it tickled, and glanced at the clock. We had time. He scooped me up and carried me back to the bedroom.

"I hate waking up alone."

"You woke up alone for a long time. Once more didn't kill you." I laughed.

"It nearly did. I don't ever want to wake up without you at my side again." he growled. He had tossed me on the bed and was making quick work of removing my clothes. Eric had slept naked, and hadn't bothered to put anything on when he had come into the kitchen.

He started to place gentle kisses on my neck, and then slowly worked his way down. By the time he got to my stomach, I was writhing and arching my back to his touch. "Eric." I whispered. He glanced up at me lazily. "This could be our last time." I said.

"It won't." he said, smiling a little, although I felt the worry from him then, and I was sure that he felt mine. He kissed my stomach again. It didn't matter how good of a fighter him and Pam were. We were up against an entire kingdom for all we knew.

"But it could be." I said, and sat up. I maneuvered myself on to my knees, and Eric straightened up so he was on his, and we were facing each other. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my face in the crook of his neck. "I love you." I whispered.

"I love you." he whispered back.

* * *

**So vacation was AWESOME. Had a great time. Forks, La Push, and Port Angeles were pretty neat. I wore my "Team Eric" shirt that day, not that anyone in the town noticed or cared, but I LOVE my pictures standing in front of the "Welcome to Forks" sign wearing it.**

**I also signed the guest books that we ran across with my name, hometown, and "Team Eric Northman" under comments. And when we ate at the diner on our way to La Push that had a Twilight themed menu, I ordered the veggie burger... with bacon.**

**I'm so rebellious! **

**And as soon as I get off my lazy butt and load up my vacation pic's, I will be sure to either post here on my profile or post a link so ya'll can see our adventure in Forks.**

**And I'm freaking counting down the hours till Tuesday, as I'm sure the rest of you are.**

**So with that, I will be totally enraptured with the new book this week, so expect the next post on Sunday.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey everyone.**

**First off, I'm SO SORRY this is late. I won't bore you with an excuse, but again, I'm sorry.**

**But here this is. It's a little shorter than normal, but I had a spot I wanted to leave off on, because we're getting close to the end here.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**

* * *

It was nearly two in the morning when we arrived in Rhodes . The plane ride had been rather uneventful other than my nervousness, but this time, I had Eric there to hold my hand, which he was happy to do. Even with Pam snickering at the sight. I simply stuck my tongue out at her and smiled, and she did the same.

I had woken that night with Eric, as the sun was setting. I had managed to get most things done the night before, so we didn't have much to worry about before our flight. Which was good, because we both were preoccupied with our arrival at the Summit and what it would mean for our lives. It was another one of those rather silent evenings. We had a little small talk, but for the most part, kept the monologues internal.

The air port shuttle showed up with Pam about an hour before our flight, and after the driver got our bags, but before Eric and I stepped out of the house, possibly for the last time together, he gathered me in his arms and laid one on me. I had to fight the urge to faint, and was glad that he had a good hold on me, because this time, my legs did give out, and when it was over, I was gasping for air. The worst part about it was that it felt like a last kiss. I cried a little which made him feel a little guilty. But I took his hand as he opened the door, and we headed off to the shuttle.

The plane ride was silent for the most part. Eric and Pam did have a little powwow, which I was left out of. But I was sure in the end that I didn't want to know the details anyways. Eric was full of anger and ready for a fight by the time they had finished.

"What was that about?" I had finally decided to ask him as we were getting close to landing.

Eric kept his eyes forward, and spoke through clenched teeth. "It was nothing."

"Sure didn't seem like nothing." I said back, just as pissy as he had. There was no reason to have an attitude with me. Not now anyway.

"I'll tell you later." he finally said, looking to me, and trying his hardest to be calm.

So here we were now, checked in to the hotel and heading to our suite. Eric had gotten one with two bedrooms. He didn't want Pam separated from us, and I didn't blame him one bit. Our bags came up with us, as Eric insisted that they never leave our sight, except for when they had been in the belly of our private jet, and in the trunk of the shuttle that took us from the airport to the hotel, which Eric had commissioned last minute to try to avoid any foul play. He was being cautious, and I was glad that he was thinking ahead like this, because I was so nervous at this point, I was surprised my socks matched.

"Lover, you have one black sock and one yellow sock on." Eric laughed as I kicked my shoes off. I looked down and sighed. But it was a happy mistake now, since it got him to laugh. I was worried I wouldn't hear that again. That thought made me tear up again, and Eric pulled his shirt off.

"What are you doing?" I asked through my tears.

"I don't want it to get ruined." He came over to me and his comment made me laugh a little through my tears. He scooped me up again in his arms, and I rested my head on his cool chest.

"I'm scared."

"I know. You shouldn't be." he whispered into my hair, placing a small kiss on the top of my head.

"But I am, and I should be. We don't know what we're walking in to here." I sighed and felt more tears coming. I thought about what Pam had told me the night before in the car. "I'm sorry I got you in to this mess. We're in this trouble because of me."

"Perhaps…" he said, and I felt a few more tears escape me. "But I made the right decision then, and I would make it again." Eric held me in his arms until I was calm, and then once I assured him I was alright, he set me down.

"So what are we going to do the rest of the night?" I asked as I made my way to our suitcases and started to unpack. We had packed light. We weren't expecting to be here for the entire Summit.

"It's late. The opening ceremony has already completed at this point."

"Do we have a plan at all?"

"Oh yes." he grinned.

I stopped what I was doing and turned to him. I put my hands on my hips. "And do I get to know what that is?"

"Yes. Pam will be over in a moment, and I'll explain it all then." he said, and sure enough, there was a knock at the door to our room within our suite.

* * *

"This is suicide." I sighed as I rested my head in my hands. The three of us were sitting in the common living area to the suite. Eric and I on the couch, and Pam in one of the armchairs across from us.

"You have a better idea?" Pam snapped at me.

"No. But would you mind telling me where I fit in to all this?" Eric and Pam looked to each other and then back to me, and it was unnerving. "What?" I asked. Pam got up and went into her room and my eyes followed her until her door was shut, and then went to Eric. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Come here." he said, but didn't really give me a choice. He reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me to his lap. He brushed my hair behind my ears and kissed my forehead.

"What?" I said again. I could feel the tears forming and I was sure that he could see it.

"Sookie. Before we go tonight…" but that was all he said. His lips met mine that moment, and I nearly fell backwards off his lap at first, but he tightened his hold on me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I hadn't even heard Pam come back in the room, but when Eric broke the kiss, and I took a deep breath, I noticed her standing above him, and just as my eyes met her, Eric whispered. "Forgive me." and he pulled me against him, clamping my arms at my side. He raised up off the seat, Pam following behind him, and we were headed towards her bedroom within our suite.

"What the hell are you doing!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs. Eric and Pam said nothing. I kicked and wailed against him, but it was like fighting a brick wall. Eric stomped right into the bedroom, tossed me as gently as he could manage in our awkward position, and then at vampire speed was out the door, and had it shut.

I jumped off the bed as fast as my human body could move and was at the door, pounding away. "Eric! Let me out! What are you doing! Pam! Don't do this! I can help!" I was crying now, and screaming through my tears. I was beating the door with every ounce of strength that I had.

"Sookie." I heard Eric's muffled voice through the door. I stopped screaming and kicking. "I had to do this. I can't have you there. I can't worry about your safety. If you go with us, I can't promise that I can keep you alive."

"You can't just leave me here." was all I could manage to sob. I collapsed with my back against the door. I heard the door to the main part of the suite open and then close, and I knew that him and Pam were gone. But I wasn't about to sit here and cry and let them go alone. I didn't want to die, but I had managed fairly well over the past few years at staying alive in a fight, and I was sure that I could manage this time, or at least I would give it my best shot. Because what else did I have if they killed Eric and Pam? They would come after me, and I couldn't fight off Victor, Sophie-Anne, and Bill. Not to mention every other vampire and who knows what else after me. Now was my best shot at getting in a few good licks at least.

I got up off the floor, and over to the bedside table. "Damn." Pam had taken the phone. I looked around the room, although I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for, but I was sure I would know it when I found it. "Damn." I said again as I made my second pass with no ideas.

I finally turned back to the door, and stared at it for a moment, almost trying to will it to open on it's own, even thought I knew that was useless. "Wish I could have that as a fairy power." I mumbled to myself. I tried to use the force, like a Jedi or Sith Lord, one final time to open the door, hoping that it was maybe some dormant fairy gift I didn't know about, and then shrugged my shoulders, braced my feet, and then ran at the door as fast and hard as I could.

I hit it with my shoulder, and bounced off it before losing my balance and falling on my bottom. It hurt like the dickens, but I was determined to get out of my little prison. "When I get out of here Eric… I swear." I laughed a little out of sheer frustration.

I braced myself again about ten feet from the door, and then ran as hard and fast as I could at it. After the fifth time, I was sure that I was going to break a bone fairly soon. I needed to find another way out.

"Niall!" I called. I waited. "Claudine!" I waited again. No answer from either. "Someone! Please! Let me out of here!"

"Sookie?" I heard a familiar voice ask from the other side of the door.

"Yes, it's me! Please, let me out!" I ran to the door and banged on it as hard as I could.

"Give it a rest, I'm trying to get you out!" my rescuer called. I backed away, and heard some banging around on the other side, and then the doors swung open, and my good friend Amelia was standing in front of me.

I ran to her and threw myself in her arms, and hers were wide open and waiting for me. "Thank you." I said.

"I saw Eric and Pam going to Sophie-Anne's room. You weren't with them, and they seemed tense and ready for a fight. I figured something was wrong, so I came to check on you."

Amelia was talking as I looked around for anything that I could use as a weapon. I spied one of the chairs from the dining room area overturned, and one of the legs was splintered, but not broken off. I went to it and started kicking at the leg to break it off.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to go help." I said as I kicked. "They left me here so they could go fight."

Amelia gasped. "Shit."

I kicked one last time and the leg broke off. "What?" I asked, looking to Amelia.

"I figured maybe Sophie-Anne or Bill had something to do with you being locked up… if I knew Eric did this..."

"You wouldn't have let me out. But their was a flaw in their plan. What was I supposed to do if someone came after me here?"

"No one would have. I had wards around your suite. No one who means you harm can get through the door."

I started to kick at another weak looking leg on the same chair. "So you knew they were doing this?" I snapped at her.

"No. Pam called me last night and asked me to do it for the three of you. I didn't know they were going to lock you up in here, I swear."

The leg broke loose, and I picked them both up, one in each hand. "You look fierce." Amelia smiled to me.

"Stay here. If no one can get in, they can't get to you right? Does the ward include you?"

"Of course." she said, and then took one of the chair legs from me. "But I'm not letting you go alone."

We made our way to Sophie-Anne's room thanks to direction from Amelia. We were standing along the wall, with me leading and now closest to the door. I reached out with my mind and found that there were three vampires in the room. Two of which I figured were Eric and Pam, if they were still alive. I tried to be as quiet as I could, holding my breath so that I could try and hear what was going on in the room. It didn't happen often, but I found myself wishing that I could read vampire minds. I turned my head to Amelia to see if she could make out the muffled words we could hear coming from inside the room, and I looked right into the eyes of Bill.

"Shoot."

* * *

"Bill, you brought more company." Sophie-Anne practically yawned as he shoved Amelia and I into her suite.

"I found these two outside the door." Bill gave one final shove and Amelia and I fell face first to the floor. Amelia was a little caught off guard, and didn't have time to get her hands in front of her to break the fall, so her face hit pretty hard, and I could see blood coming from her mouth. I managed to get my hands in front of me, but I still hit hard enough so that I knew if I lived through this, I was going to be sore from this in the morning.

And then I looked in front of me as I lay there on the ground, and I saw what was left of Pam's body. I gasped and felt the tears coming, but I choked them back. I didn't have time to cry right now. I needed to live, because that's what Pam would have wanted. A tear did escape for her though. I looked over to Amelia again, and she was wiping her mouth with her hand. She looked at me, and I could tell she had seen Pam's fate, and she let a few tears go for her then too.

I felt Eric, and I looked around me until I found him. He was bound to a chair with silver chains, and he was drilling holes into my skull with the look he was giving me. I met his eyes for a moment, and I felt his anger, and I pushed it to the back of my mind as I turned over and sat up.

"They had these." Bill said to Sophie-Anne, tossing the chair leg steaks that Amelia and I had carried.

Sophie-Anne let out a little chuckle. "Cute."

"Victor is on his way your majesty." Bill said, and walked over to Amelia, picking her up by her hair. "Do we still need this one?"

Sophie-Anne turned towards Amelia, "No. You can dispose of her."

"No!" I screamed, but it was to late, because Bill snapped her neck, and let her limp body drop to the floor.

"It's to bad she couldn't be trusted. She was good at what she did." Sophie-Anne commented and turned back to Bill. "Shut her up." she said, and realized that she was talking about me. I hadn't realized that I had started sobbing, and Bill took a few steps so that now he was standing in front of me. He reached down and grabbed me by my hair, pulling me up. I really hated it when someone did that to me. And I let Bill know just how much I hated it, because I kicked him right in his privates once he got me on my feet.

"Bitch." he growled through clenched teeth, and slapped me. If he had slapped me as hard as he could, it would have broken my neck, but he held back just enough so that he only broke my cheek bone. The sound of it resonating in the room. It was getting harder to suppress Eric's rage over my own.

"You better kill me, because I swear, I will kill you." I spat at Bill. I didn't see what was so funny about it, but he and Sophie-Anne both laughed.

There was a knock at the door, and Bill dropped me back to the ground, and went to the door, opening it slowly. In sauntered Victor Madden. "Sophie, good to see you. I see you did what I asked." He looked from Eric to me, smiling. It was creepy as hell.

"Actually, we didn't have to do anything. They came to us." Sophie-Anne said. If she still needed to breathe, this was where she would have yawned. She looked positively bored.

"Why am I not surprised." Victor said, and he walked the rest of the way into the room, and Bill shut the door behind him. "You've kept up your end of the bargain. Felipe will be pleased. The marriage will go on tomorrow night as planned."

"Nice to see you again Victor." I said as sarcastic as I could muster. My face was pounding, but I was doing everything I could to work through it.

Victor walked in front of me, and leaned down. "It's always a pleasure Miss Stackhouse." And with that, he kicked me in the ribs, and I was sure that if a few of them weren't broken, they were at least cracked. "I've been waiting a long time for this. And I'm going to enjoy every moment of it." He kicked me again, and this time, I was sure there were broken ribs.

"I'll kill you." Eric whispered. I looked over to him, and realized how pale he looked. He was very grey, and it hit me the last time I had seen a vampire look that color. Victor looked from me to Eric, and then back to me.

"Silver poisoning. Isn't it beautiful." Victor laughed. He leaned down in front of me again. "You remember when Bill had silver poisoning? He was lucky Judith came. He would have died without her I suspect. It's a good thing Eric has Pam… oh, wait." He smiled. I reached up to slap him, but he grabbed my wrist mid swing and broke it. I screamed, I'm sure that I did, but it was almost muffled from my broken and swollen cheek and broken ribs. I collapsed the rest of the way to the ground and cradled my wrist.

"He still has Appius here." I whispered. It didn't matter that I whispered, because I knew he could hear me.

"But it won't matter where Appius is if Eric's meets the final death." Victor walked over to stand now in front of Eric. "I can't decide which one of you to kill first." He looked between Eric and me a few times, before he finally settled on me. "I think I want Northman to watch you die. Watching him suffer as the bond is broken will be quite a sight."

And with that, Victor came back over to me. I turned to Eric, and watched him struggle to get out of his chains, and I could see that he was in pain, and through his struggling he let his walls drop, and I felt the pain that he was going through, and felt guilty that I hadn't tried to block mine from him.

And then Victor was in front of me, and I took my eyes off Eric to look at Victor, and he grabbed me by my neck, and lifted me off the ground, and he sunk his fangs into my neck.

But I didn't just give up. I kicked and hit and screamed as loud as I could. I could feel the life draining from me, but I was going to fight until I was dead, which felt like it would be very soon.

"Stop this!" I heard a familiar voice boom. I was dizzy, light headed. I felt barely conscious. But I was there enough to see the dazed look in Victor's eyes. He dropped me to the ground, and I wanted to just fall asleep right there, but I fought to keep my eyes open. And I got to watch as Sophie-Anne, Bill, and then finally Victor lost their heads.


	20. Chapter 20

**Well look who just kept on writing and writing last night and tonight.. that's right... ME!**

**Good evening everyone! Happy Wednesday!**

**Well.. this is it. The last chapter.**

**I hope it all comes together and makes sense. I hope what I was trying to get across comes across as clearly as it sounded in my head. This was the ending that I had in my mind when I started this story. It was actually the ending that I thought of first, and the story just kind of spun from there.**

**Oh, and forgive my manners... but I forgot to say THANK YOU last night for all the wonderful reviews.**

**And I say thank you again tonight for all the wonderful reviews from last nights post. I love that everyone seemed to love it, even though it was sad.. I know. But I dedicate chapter 19 to my bestie, who loves it when main characters die.**

**Anywho, enough babbling, on with the show.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot**

**~~!WARNING!~~**

**This chapter contains semi-spoilers and themes from Dead Reckoning! If you haven't read that, and don't want any spoilers, (though they are small and few) turn away NOW!**

**I've taken ideas from book 11, but I didn't necessarily use that timeline at all. This was always more post DITF, but again, I worked in some aspects/themes/story points from book 11.**

**Snoogans!**

* * *

"Oh… Sookie, I'm so sorry." Claudine said as she made her way across the bodies that were starting to disintegrate and over to my side. I coughed and thought that my chest and face were going to explode it was so painful. I looked over to Eric, who looked like he was fading fast. I could feel him let go of his anger once Claudine slaughtered everyone else in the room but us, and now, while there was still a hint of anger, which I was sure was due to Claudine, there was mostly just relief and pain.

"Help him." I whispered, because it was all that I could manage. I laid my head back on the ground, and felt like I was fading in and out of consciousness. I watched Claudine raise back up from in front of me, and go to Eric. Either he was bad off, or she was masking her scent, because he seemed not to notice her at all. His eyes had closed and I wasn't sure if he was awake or in down time. I could still feel him through the bond, but it didn't feel right. I attributed that to the silver poisoning and him being hurt from it.

She stood in front of Eric, and placed her hands at his temples. He shifted a little at her touch, but stayed still while she kept her hands on either side of his head, and closed her own eyes. I started to feel the pain coming from him diminish slowly, and I opened my eyes again, not realizing that I had closed them, to see he was still sitting there motionless, but that his color was coming back at a stead pace. Well, he wasn't gray anymore; he was going back to his normal pale white self.

Within a few minutes, he was back to looking normal. "Take the silver off him." I said, this time, hardly above a whisper. Claudine obeyed, and Eric, although seemingly back to normal, slumped over in the chair. "What's wrong with him?"

"I need to keep him sedated for now." Claudine said, placing a kiss on his forehead, and then walking back over to me.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I messed things up. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt again. Not like this. This isn't what I wanted."

"Where are we?"

"In a hotel…" she started to say, but I cut her off.

"You know what I mean!" I practically screamed. "I'm tired of this. I want to go home. I want Eric and me to go home. And Amelia, and Pam. And anyone else you brought here!" Thinking of Amelia and Pam, seeing Amelia's lifeless body, and seeing what was left of Pam's, I finally let myself cry. "I just want to go home." I sobbed. Which hurt, bad. But I couldn't help it. My friends were dead. I had almost died. Eric had almost died. It was my final straw.

I had my face back on the ground, and I felt Claudine's hand rest on my temple, and I started to feel better. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm trying to make this right." She continued whatever it was she was doing, and I could feel my body healing. After a few minutes, my wrist felt better, completely healed in fact. I could breathe normally. My face didn't feel as puffy from my broken cheek. And I didn't feel light headed or lethargic anymore from the blood loss. I sat up and wiped away the tears that had been trickling down the entire time.

"How are you doing this? Are you an angel?" I asked. Claudine just smiled, and then leaned forward, and placed a kiss on my forehead, just like she had done to Eric.

* * *

**SIX MONTHS EARLIER:**

"I will be back." Eric told me as I hugged myself to his body, refusing to let go.

"Don't go. Appius is dead Eric, you don't have to go."

"But I do."

"You won't turn your back on them. You'll be in this forever."

"It's our culture, Sookie. I will find a way out, and I will come back to you." Eric leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "My wife." he whispered into my hair. I started to cry then. I was trying to hold out as long as I could. He hated it when I cried, and I didn't want his last moments with me for who knows how long to be of me crying.

"I'll figure some way to get you out of this." I had wished that Eric would turn his back on this mess with Freyda. I wanted him to. I couldn't put myself in his shoes when it came to being forced into a marriage with her. His maker, Appius was dead, and still controlling Eric's life. And Eric wouldn't disobey an order from his maker, dead or not.

I did put myself in his shoes eventually however, to a point. I didn't understand and didn't agree with parts of the vampire politics and culture, but who was I to judge? Amelia had pointed out that there were still arranged marriages in other parts of the world, which was their culture. When she put it like that, I understood, to a point. Enough that I wasn't as upset as I had been when Eric first told me about the letter and deal Appius had made with Freyda.

"Call me when you land." I sobbed. I was trying as hard as I could to calm myself.

"Eric, it's time." Pam called from my driveway. She was taking Eric to the airport. I had decided not to go, and say my goodbye's to him at my house.

"I wish you would come to see me off." he said, looking down at me. I felt hypnotized looking into his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Fine." I sighed, and ran inside to grab my purse.

"Eric, seriously." Pam said as Eric came back to give me one final kiss. One of his famous faint-worthy smooches.

* * *

"I love you." he said as he let me go, heading back over to the plane again. He had started his trip to the plane twice now, but came back to me for one more kiss.

"I love you too." I said, and fought with all my might not to cry. Eric boarded the plane, and the door shut behind him. Pam came to my side and put an arm around me.

"You can cry now." she said, and I did. She hugged me a little closer. "He's smart and cunning. He'll find a way out of this. He won't be gone long." she said, trying to comfort me. It wasn't like her to lie to me like that, but I appreciated the effort.

"You read that in Dear Abby?" I asked, and laughed a little. Pam just smiled back, and we watched as the plane taxied down the runway, and then flew off into the night sky.

"Am I taking you back to your home Sookie?" Pam asked as we got on the highway.

"Can you take me to Eric's?" I whispered. I was in a sour, sad, self loathing mood. Pam nodded and we drove the rest of the way in silence.

I had planned on just grabbing some of my things and then heading home, but Pam stuck around with me, and I decided that I wanted to sleep in his bed, because I could smell him best there.

"You're just making this harder on yourself Sookie. He'll come back." Pam scolded when she found me lying in his bed, curled up with his pillow.

"Look, I'm really not in the mood…" and I stopped, and I screamed the most gut wrenching scream. "Pam! Pam what's happening?" I screamed. I felt like my insides were being pulled out through my pores. I wasn't even sure if Pam responded because I couldn't hear anything but my screaming.

And then that's when I felt it. Or rather, didn't feel it. Feel him anymore. "He's gone." I choked out. "He's gone, Pam." And then the pain was to much, it was all to much, and I lost consciousness.

* * *

**FIVE MONTHS EARLIER:**

I was laying in bed. I had been there for days. No one had come to bother me, because I had thrown them all out, and told them not to come back. It seemed like everyone I knew had come by my home more than once in the last month, all offering their condolences or something that really didn't matter, that I just didn't care about.

There was only one thing that I wanted.

And I couldn't have it… ever again.

I couldn't even go to visit him like I could my Gran. The plane had exploded, and there was nearly nothing left. Not even ashes they could identify as his so that I had something to bury.

I know my Gran isn't in her grave really, and I know that whether I had his ashes or not, he wouldn't really be there, but it does make a difference. I can feel that difference when I go to visit my Gran's grave, compared to when I visit the one I had placed for him, in our family plot. It was an empty coffin, because I wanted to bury something, have somewhere to go visit him at.

I couldn't bring myself to step foot in his house again, and I had only started sleeping in my bed a week ago. I still refused to use my bathroom, so I used the one across the hall.

I heard my bedroom door creek ever so slightly as someone entered. Vampire. I didn't even bother putting up my walls anymore. I just didn't care enough.

"Get out." I mumbled.

"I brought you something to eat." Bill replied. He stayed standing just inside the door. I didn't look at him.

"Not hungry." My stomach decided to growl then. Damn stomach.

"I see. Well, I'll leave this here then." Bill set the tray of food he had apparently been holding at the foot of my bed, and than sat in the chair in the corner of my room.

"I said get out." I mumbled again. But he didn't move. He just sat there, not saying a thing. It was so damn frustrating. No one seemed to understand that I just wanted to be left alone with my grief. I contemplated getting up and throwing him out, rescinding his invitation, but it was more effort that I wanted to exert, so I just let him be. He'd get bored, or hungry, eventually, and he'd leave.

But an hour later he was still sitting in that damn chair. I had finally had enough, I shot straight up in bed and glared at Bill. "I said to get out. So help me God I'll rescind your invitation into this house if you don't leave now." Tears were welling up in my eyes.

Bill rose from the chair, but he didn't leave my room. My eyes followed him as he made his way around my bed, to stand just in front of me. He reached his arms out and pulled me to him, and I fought against him as hard as I could. I punched and pushed and kneed him as hard as I could, until my crying got the best of me, and I just collapsed against him.

* * *

**THREE MONTHS EARLIER:**

I sat in his office at Fangtasia, in his chair, behind his desk. I was curled up in a ball, my knees at my chest, arms wrapped around them to keep them in place, head resting on my knees. I had been sitting there all night, waiting for the bar to close so that Pam and I could discuss our plans.

We had to act soon, because Victor was coming for me. He was going to take me to Las Vegas, as a gift to Felipe. I wasn't going to let that happen.

And I was going to get justice… revenge… for what he had done to… him. Victor had arranged for the plane to explode so that … my husband… would die on his way to Oklahoma, and there would be no one left to protect me. So Victor got to do what he had wanted to do the moment the takeover had started about two years ago, he killed my husband.

I still couldn't say his name out loud, or to myself even.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in." I said. Bill entered with Bubba and I smiled for the first time in three months. "Hey Bubba." I said. Bill seemed a bit taken aback by the grin on my face.

"Hey there Miss. Sookie. Listen, I heard about…"

"Thank you Bubba." I cut in, and Bill placed his hand on Bubba's shoulder and shook his head. Bubba wasn't all there, but bless him for getting what Bill was silently saying. They both took a seat on the couch, and we waited there in silence until Pam came in ten minutes later.

"This plan is going to get us all killed." Pam said as she walked in.

"Right. Which is why I say we go back to my original plan." I said into my legs as I put my head back down.

"Your plan is shit. It's suicide." Pam came over to stand next to me.

"I have to agree with Pam…" Bill started, but I interjected.

"No one asked you Bill." I snapped. Pam smiled. I could feel it. But then she stopped, and she grabbed me by my hair and pulled my head back so that I our eyes met, and I saw her anger. Bill got up off the couch, as did Bubba, but Pam put up her hand to stop them.

"Sookie, I'm fucking tired of this shit. Snap out of it!" she said, and slapped me. My mouth dropped open and I just gawked at her. I didn't know what else to do. "Is this what you think Eric would want you to do? Sulk around all day, feeling sorry for yourself, pushing away your family and your friends?"

"Pam… please." I said, hardly a whisper, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Sitting at the empty grave you laid for him. You make me sick, and he would be disappointed in you."

"Pam, I think that's enough." Bill said, but Pam picked up the stapler from the desk, and threw it with vampire speed at Bill's head. He dodged it, but he got the picture when he saw the hole it left in the wall, and sat back down.

"I love you Sookie," Pam said, and Bill and I sort of froze, right along with her, when those words came out of her mouth, "but I swear that I will fucking end you if this doesn't stop." She let go of my hair, but I stayed looking up at her.

That was when I felt the change. I knew a change was happening in me over the last few months, but I hadn't acknowledged it until that moment. I knew something in me was starting to change when we found out Victor was the one who had plotted the bombing of the plane. We had suspected it was him the moment that we heard the explosion was no accident, but we finally got our proof a month ago.

But Victor was trying to throw everyone off his trail, since I'm sure he suspected that we all figured it was him. His hatred of my husband and myself was no secret. But Victor put on an 'investigation' which led him to 'discover' that the Fellowship of the Sun was behind the attack on Anubis Air, flight 317. Since his 'discovery', he had led attacks on the Fellowship, which resulted in the deaths of innocent people.

The old me would have cared.

The new me didn't.

And that change, the final step, was that I wanted to live.

I could only focus on one thing. It was the one thing that kept me going every day, even though sometimes that was quite a struggle. But I would latch on to that one thing. My lust, desire, and the only thing that mattered to me anymore. My revenge.

I had called it justice for quite some time, and it was justice. But it was also revenge. That word sounded so nasty, and it took me a while to say it finally to myself. It wasn't one that I would have used lightly before, if even at all. But now, it was the only thing I thought about.

"Fine." I finally said to Pam. "We'll do it your way."

"Good." she said, and patted me on my cheek, then she turned to face Bill and Bubba. "Now Bubba, here's what we have planned."

* * *

**ABOUT TWO MONTHS EARLIER:**

Fangtasia was closed that night. We had a special event planned for our resident Regent, Victor Madden. The one, the only, Bubba, was going to be performing for him that night at the bar. A private show, as a gesture of gratitude for all of Victors hard work in catching and punishing those who had blown up Anubis Air Flight 317.

So the night finally came, and we gathered at Fangtasia. In my corner were Pam, Bill, Bubba, Amelia, Sam, Alcide, Thalia, and a few other vampires I had only seen in passing, but that Pam had said were loyal to my husband, and could be trusted.

Bill scooted Bubba into the back office to get ready, and Pam and I waited dutifully at the door, awaiting Victor and his entourage.

They showed up on time, and Victors guards scoped the place out before he entered, which was no surprise. Once deemed safe for their regent, Victor sauntered in, and I bowed and thanked him for all his help regarding the Fellowship of the Sun and the bombing of flight 317.

We hurried Victor to his seat, front and center, and Pam and I sat to his left, with me right next to him, then Pam, and Amelia just behind her. Once everyone was settled, we nodded to Sam, who called back for Bill and Bubba.

And it was amazing. Bubba started off strong with Jail House Rock, followed up by A Little Less Conversation, then Hound Dog,. Victor was in awe, leaning forward in his chair, grinning from ear to ear. He was like a kid in a candy store. It made me sick. When Hound Dog was nearly over, and I was anxious to strike, but I had to wait. It was still to early. Not everyone was as relaxed as Victor. Although, I was sure they wouldn't be. No one in his regime seemed to be enjoying it as much as him, and they didn't seem like they would start to either any time soon.

And then Bubba started his next song. Fools Rush In. And I nearly lost it right then and there. My mind flashed to my husband and me in my kitchen, nearly nine months ago. I was cooking, he was sipping a True Blood and talking to me as I made my way around the table to eat. I had the radio on for background music, and my favorite romantic song started to play. I told him so, and he asked me to dance. And we did. We slow danced to Fools Rush In, right there in my kitchen. It was one of the most romantic experiences of my life. He held me so close, and we swayed so gently to the music. I had rested my head against his chest.

I felt a tear slide down my cheek, and it brought me back to the present. Victor looked over at me and noticed my tear. He smiled, just a little, hardly noticeable, but it was there, and that's when I lost it. I reached under my chair where I had built a little sling for the steak that I planned on slamming into his chest, and I pulled it out as quietly and slowly as I could.

He hadn't even seen it coming when I drove it into his heart.

And Bubba just kept on singing.

And then all hell broke lose in Fangtasia.

I was still leaning over Victors body as he started to spew blood and gore. "This is for Eric, you son of a BITCH!" I screamed as I pushed the stake the rest of the way in to him. I didn't need to, he was already dying his final death, but driving it in made me feel so good. It wasn't until he had stopped moving that I finally looked around the room. There was fighting everywhere. I noticed Pam struggling with another vampire, and they were paying the price for trying to take on Pam. She was clearly winning that battle, as the helpless vampire lost an arm, then his other, and finally, she tore his head off and threw it to the side, and I watched, backing against the wall, as it bounced behind the bar.

I started to search for Amelia, and found a female vampire had her pinned to the ground, and was leaning over her neck. I rushed to her side, jumping on the back of the vampire who was draining her. I had pulled the stake that I had stuck in Victor our of him and had taken it with me, and now I was driving it in to her heart via her back. She screeched as I did this, and I kicked her away to get to my friend.

But I was to late.

"Sookie! Move!" I heard Sam yell over all the commotion, and I turned to face him, to run, just as one of Victors lackeys drove his sword right into my abdomen.

I dropped to my knees, and that son of a bitch twisted the damn thing. It hurt like hell, but I didn't make a noise. And regardless of what I had been feeling I found that I was sad to be dying. And I could feel it, that I was dying.

And the only person who had noticed was Sam. And he came up behind the vampire that had done me in, and he swung the machete that he had in his hands, and the vampires head was gone.

"Jesus Sook." Sam said as he pushed the vampire away so that he could kneel in front of me.

"I'm alright." I said, but laughed a little at how very not alright I was. Tears filled Sam's eyes, and I placed my hand on his cheek. "Don't be sad." I started to lean forward, and Sam caught me. And he held on to me as I felt my heart slowing, and my breathing became more shallow. He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. "I get to be with him again sooner than I thought." I whispered through strained breaths. And then there was a flash of glowing white light, and I took my last breath.

* * *

"Oh." was all I could manage to say when I opened my eyes again. I was looking at Claudine again, and I tensed as I gained my bearings, realizing that I was back in the hotel room in Rhodes. Tears were flowing and I took in everything I had just seen. "How did you do that? I don't understand… did we die? Was that real?" I looked to Eric. He was still sitting in the chair, his head bent forward. He was unconscious from whatever Claudine had done to him. "Take us back."

"Sookie,"

"Take us back to before he got on the plane. You brought us here to this timeline, you saved us, you can take us back." I was starting to sound frantic, and my voice was rising, and the tears were coming more steadily. "Please Claudine. Please." I sobbed.

"Sookie, I can't take you back."

"Are we stuck here?"

Claudine stood back up, and lifted me up with her. She looked around the room. "I should clean this up." she said, and she swooped her arms around, and there was a gust of air, and I brought my arm up to my face to shield it, and when I looked again, the room was spick and span. The bodies, the blood, all gone. It was just Claudine, Eric, and myself. She turned back to me. "There, much better."

I slapped her as hard as I could. She brought her hands up to her cheek, but she wasn't angry. She smiled at me, and reached a hand out to touch me, but I backed away.

"I'm sorry." I told her, and I was, even if it was only a little.

"You have every right to be upset. Will you sit, and I can explain?" She motioned to the couch, and I turned to look at Eric again. She followed my stare, and smiled, "He'll be fine. It's just taking longer for him to remember."

"So he is here with me? The Eric from that other timeline?"

"Oh yes, I brought him here first."

"And Amelia? Pam? Victor?"

"Amelia yes. Pam no, she survived the fight at Fangtasia the night you killed Victor. Victor… well he was an unfortunate side effect."

"Unfortunate side effect? You didn't mean to bring him here?"

"Of course not." she scowled at me. "But he was a causality when I worked my magic that night, and so he got picked up with you and Amelia. It wasn't easy to do what I did, and it was kind of all or nothing."

"Why won't you bring us back?"

"Oh Sookie, you saw why you can't go back." She reached a hand out and placed it on my cheek.

"Where are we?"

"Well, it's not the alternate timeline you thought. But that was a good guess. Think of this more like… limbo."

"So you are an angel?"

"Yes." she said, an smiled. "And I saw what was going to happen to Eric, and I didn't have a way to warn you. So I did what I could. And I called in a few favors, and I built this place for you both. It was where I planned on keeping him until you would join him here."

"You did a lousy job." I scoffed, but Claudine just laughed.

"Well, it needed to seem real. And I was working off what I could pull from your memories. I admit, I know I got some things wrong, and it all ended up going straight to hell thanks to Victor being here, but you were never in any real danger. You both were already dead."

That hit me like a ton of bricks. We were dead. We really honestly were dead. "But why did you do all this? Why didn't we just pass on to wherever we would have gone?"

Claudine looked down at her lap. "Because Eric wouldn't have gone where you were going Sookie, and I couldn't let that happen, because I love you, and I didn't want you going there without him. I didn't want you to live for eternity without his soul. It's true what they say down there… oh how does it go… 'Whatever you hold to be true on earth, I will hold true in heaven.' Yes, that sounds right. And what is held true, before and after the Great Revelation, is that a vampire is damned. And I think you know what that means."

I was floored. I didn't know what to think. I had never thought about what would happen to Eric when or if he ever met his final death. I had figured that he would be forgiven, because God forgives, and I would meet him again some day after we had both passed. I really had never crossed my mind that he would be damned. "So you made this place for us?"

"Yep. And I know I did a lousy job, you don't have to rub it in. But it took a lot of magic. Magic that wasn't entirely mine, and I wasn't one hundred percent sure on how to use, but I had to try."

"I didn't realize you cared that much about Eric."

"Oh, I don't. I mean, I don't hate the guy, but I did this for you Sookie."

"Oh." I said. "What about Amelia then? And Victor?"

"Amelia has moved on." Claudine smiled. "And so has Victor." and she motioned her finger towards the ground, and we both laughed.

"Why didn't you just tell us once we got here?"

"Because this is where I was going to keep you both. You could have the life here that you didn't get to have while you were alive. But Victor was the hitch in my plan, and he ruined it, and now I can't take it back. The magic doesn't work that way. So… there's just one last place for you both to go now." She smiled a simply angelic smile at me, and I felt my whole body relax. "Are you ready?" she asked, and I shook my head that I was. "Good. Go get him." she said, and nodded towards Eric.

I rose off the couch and stood in front of Eric. I placed my hands on either side of his face and raised it slightly so that I could kiss him gently on the lips. I lingered there until I felt his hands come up and grip my wrists. I opened my eyes and was staring straight into the blue ocean that were his.

"My wife." he said, "I remember."

"Me too. You remember everything?" I asked.

He shook his head that he did. "The plane exploded."

"It sure did." I said, and choked back a tear remembering that night.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." he said, and hugged me to him. I let my body fold in to his and felt comfort like I had never felt before.

"We wont have to worry about that ever again." I said into his chest. "Are you ready?"

"Where are we going?" he asked as I moved away from him and stood at his side. I took his hand in mine.

"Where we can spend eternity together."

* * *

**Just want to say one last time, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. I've loved seeing all your wonderful comments, and reading your theories. They really were all wonderful, and kept me motivated to write.**

**Love you ALL!**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**


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